Harry Potter Trunk Sets

Harry Potter Box Set, Books 1-7 with Sticker From his first appearance as a young orphan entering Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to his final showdown with Voldemort, Harry Potter has become one of the most cherished characters in history. Now, collectible hardcover editions of all seven books in J.K. Rowlings phenomenal bestselling saga are snugly packed in a decorative, trunk-like box with sturdy handles and a privacy lock, accompanied by decorative stickers. The seven titles include: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer s Stone Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows $195.00

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Triwizard Trunk Set This amazing Harry Potter Triwizard Trunk Set from Robert Tonner lets you play along with Harry's challenging tasks from the film "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire." This giant set includes a 17-inch Harry Potter Tonner Character Figure in fine vinyl and hard plastic, with multiple points of articulation for the most adventuresome poses. The trunk includes four extra outfits plus the outfit Harry is wearing, miniatures of Firebolt broom, Dragon's Egg (exclusive to this Triwizard Trunk Set) and Triwizard Cup. Each outfit symbolizes one of the tests that Harry must go through. $199.50

Harry Potter Box Set, Books 1-7 with Sticker From his first appearance as a young orphan entering Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to his final showdown with Voldemort, Harry Potter has become one of the most cherished characters in history. Now, collectible hardcover editions of all seven books in J.K. Rowlings phenomenal bestselling saga are snugly packed in a decorative, trunk-like box with sturdy handles and a privacy lock, accompanied by decorative stickers. The seven titles include: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer s Stone Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows $115.99

Harry Potter Die-Cast Metal Hogwarts Express Vehicle Set Don't miss your train, Harry! The Hogwarts Express departs from Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross station, carrying students to Hogsmeade, where they are then taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the start of each new school term. This collectible set of 3 unique vehicles includes an unpainted first-shot, a resin version, and a completely finished vehicle. Limited to 2,000 sets, this magical 1:43 scale group comes nicely packaged in a high-quality hinged box that looks remarkably like Mr. Potter's very own school trunk. All aboard! This is one train you don't want to miss! $119.99

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DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Wednesday 19 November 2008 02 15 05 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks, Obladi! All right, here it is! The last chapter! What can I say? I spent 6 months on this story and loved every minute of it. I love it even more than the first Albus story. New characters, plot points, everything I like! I am working on a sequel. So far I only have the prologue, which I have to rewrite anyway. I decided not to really start working on it until winter break, which is only 3 weeks away! I have plot ideas, plenty of them. And new characters. So, to my devoted readers of my Albus series, I highly suggest you read In Moonlight's Shadow while you wait for the next Albus story. There are characters from In Moonlight's Shadow in the sequel, so you'll understand more if you read In Moonlight's Shadow. The two stories are very interconnected. All right, I'll stop the long Author's Notes and get on with the last chapter! New page, new disclaimer- I have not acquired the rights to Harry Potter since I last posted a disclaimer. Harry Potter still isn't mine. Chapter 37: Possibilities There was a page long article on the front of the Prophet the next morning that detailed every aspect of the previous night's incident in Hogsmeade. Well, it did not explain what exactly Willinson was after, but everything else was mentioned. Kaden became an instant celebrity as soon as he left the Hospital Wing after breakfast. Almost the entire school, including a few Slytherins, wanted a first hand account of how he got kidnapped. Kaden didn't show any of the fears he had the previous night as he greatly embellished what went on in the old abandoned house. Harry still hadn't returned from the Ministry. Albus figured he was still busy with sentencing Willinson to Azkaban. Albus didn't have long to dwell on it, though, because they had the last of their examinations that day. "I am so glad those are over!" John exclaimed at dinner that night, "I say we party in the common room tonight!" "Some of us," Gabriella leaned over the table, "Still have O.W.L.s to take." "Oh, er, right," John muttered, "Never mind." "We can still party," Albus whispered, "Just not in the common room." "Oh, yeah," John grinned. "And then I tried to kick his wand out of his hand, but he grabbed my leg instead," Kaden explained to a few over-excited Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who had wandered over, "So, I bit him. He shrieked like a little girl." Albus rolled his eyes. "This just gets crazier and crazier." "Aw, come on, Albus. You've gotta admit that he's making it sound better," John said. "But biting Willinson?" Albus raised his eyebrow, "That's disgusting." "You've got an owl, Albus," Rose pointed to an owl that was soaring down towards Albus. It was Harry's. Albus took the letter and opened it. John and Matt read it over his shoulder. [i]Dear Al, Things are pretty much taken care of at the Ministry. I'll be back around seven. Meet me in the Entrance Hall then. Bring Rose, Kaden, Matt, John, and Amanda. I'd like to talk to you about last night. Love, Dad[/i] Matt looked at his watch. "That's in a half hour." "Half hour to drag Kaden away from his fans," John smirked. A half hour later Albus and his friends were standing around the Entrance Hall, waiting for Harry. Kaden had reluctantly left his gaggle of girls, only after Albus had told him that Harry was going to explain about the Cloak. "Well, well, what have we here?" a wheezy voice said from behind them. Albus spun around and saw Filch limping towards them with a smirk on his face. "Loitering in the Entrance Hall," Filch muttered, "What are you up to, I wonder...." "Er," Albus said. "Another detention, before the year's up...." "They're with me, Filch," Harry shouted from the doorway, "And it's not curfew yet." "Right, right..." Filch muttered and shuffled off in the opposite direction. "So, Room of Requirement sound good?" Harry asked. Everyone nodded and followed Harry up the stairs. They were stopped no less than three times by various students wanting to talk to Kaden. Albus and John broke out in hysterical laughter after the third person asked for his autograph. Eventually, they did manage to make it to the Room. Everybody settled themselves onto the various comfy armchairs and couches that were in the room. "Are you going to tell me why Willinson wanted Albus's cloak?" Kaden asked immediately. Harry laughed, "Yes, don't worry, Kaden. I'm going to explain everything." "Excellent," Kaden grinned. Harry launched into the long story about the Hallows, beginning with how he, Ron, and Hermione first learned about the Hallows, including [i]The Tale of the Three Brothers[/i], and ending with the incident that happened the last spring. By the time he finished, Kaden was staring at him open mouthed and a look of awe on his face. "Blimey, that's amazing," Kaden grinned. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone about this, Kaden," Harry said seriously. Albus tried to stifle his laughter as he turned to look at Rose. "What's so funny?" Kaden asked. "You. Keeping a secret," John grinned. "Oh, shut it. I've kept secrets." "I'm sure Kaden will be able to keep it a secret," Harry said. "So," Albus began, changing the subject, "What's going to happen to Willinson?" "He's in Azkaban right now," Harry explained, "He has a minimum ten years sentence, maximum twenty years. He's not too happy about it, but too bad for him." "Good," Albus said, "What about Felix Willinson?" "Well, all he really did was hex Kaden, which happens all the time here. I've assigned him a few detentions." "What about those other blokes?" Kaden asked, "Washburn and Willinson's dad?" "They're still on the run," Harry sighed, "But we're looking for them. Quinton wouldn't give us any information when we questioned him." "Hope you find them soon," Kaden replied. "Me, too," Harry said and turned to Albus, "Now, Al, could you explain about this new map you showed me last night?" Albus looked at his dad and then slowly got the map out of his bag. He unfolded it and held it up. "Er, yeah." "Where did you find it?" Harry asked quietly. "Attic of the house. It was hidden in an old photo album of the Marauders." "Do you still have the album?" "Yeah, it's up in my trunk." "I'd like to see it over the summer," Harry said, "But what I'd like now is for you to explain exactly how this map works. I promise you won't get in trouble." "All right," Albus glanced at his friends and then back at his dad, "At first, we had no idea what to do with it. So we tried random stuff like spells and the phrase for the Marauder's Map. Eventually we figured it out, but it turns out this map was more complicated than the Marauder's Map. "For it to work, four Gryffindors have to be 'the next Marauders." "Wait, what?" Harry asked. "The Marauders somehow made it so you could only get the map to reveal itself if you were one of four boys who are like the Marauders." "That is impressive magic," Harry said quietly. "So, somehow the map recognized that I was related to one of the Marauders and thought I might be one of the new Marauders," Albus explained, "And, it's true. I am the new Prongs." Harry stared at Albus. "Merlin. That is incredible, Albus." Albus smiled. "And Matt, John, and Kaden are the other new Marauders. It wouldn't have worked without them." "Want to guess who's who?" John grinned. Harry smirked, "You're Padfoot." "Is it that obvious?" "Yes," Harry, Albus, and Rose said at the same time. "Well, guess who Matt and Kaden are," John said. "I think I'm even more obvious than you are," Matt muttered from the couch he was laying on. "You're Moony," Harry said, "Which leaves Kaden to be Wormtail. You kind of got the worst end of the deal." Kaden shrugged, "I don't have to be exactly like him." "Of course not," Harry agreed. "So, how did you prove to the map that you were the new Marauders?" "Er," Albus shrugged, "We had to do some, well, some stuff." "What kind of stuff, Al?" Harry smiled, "I promise you won't get in trouble." Albus sighed and quickly explained what they had spent the entire year doing. Harry was shaking his head and laughing by the time Albus had finished. "I can't say I'm happy that you snuck out of the castle and spent the night in the Shrieking Shack or that you stunned deer in the forest near Rose's house, but nothing bad happened. Just don't do anything like that again." "All right," Albus shrugged. "Ok, now I want to see this map of Hogsmeade." "Sure," Albus pulled out his wand, "Only the four of us can get it to show up, though." Albus revealed the map and handed it to his dad. He only hoped that Harry wouldn't notice the third page. Albus didn't want to tell his dad about the secret room yet. Harry spent about ten minutes looking at the map and then handed it back to Albus. "Al, I'm really glad you managed to find that. It means a lot that the four of you can be the next generation of Marauders. Now, I've got to go speak with the headmaster. I'll see you tomorrow." "Night, Dad," Albus got up. "Night, Al," Harry stood up and gave his son a hug, "Love you." "Love you, too." John stood up as soon as Harry left. "Ok, you lot, let's go celebrate the end of exams!" Albus, Rose, and Amanda got up as well. "Good idea!" Albus grinned. "Are you sleeping?" John poked Matt. "I was," Matt groaned. "Aw, come on, we want to go celebrate in the other room." "Ugh, all right, I'm coming," Matt sat up, "Aren't you lot tired? We got almost no sleep last night and then had to be up early for exams." "Not really," John shrugged, "But I know you are. I saw you fall asleep on your History of Magic exam." "It would be hard not to," Matt yawned, "The class is bad enough, but a test?" "I agree with you there," John said. Albus, Matt, John, and Kaden wound up spending the night in the Marauder's Den. Matt fell asleep in his bed as soon as they got there, and no one had the heart to wake him up. Well, John did, but Rose convinced him not to. The girls left shortly before curfew, after a few rounds of Exploding Snap and Wizard's chess, as well as the eating of numerous Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Beans. ****** The remaining week of school went by incredibly fast. Albus and his friends spent most of it outside, once Matt was out of the hospital wing that is, playing Quidditch and goofing off. Kaden's many admirers slowly trickled away and soon Kaden was just a regular student again. Ravenclaw won the House Cup yet again. Albus and Rose went to yet another Hogwarts graduation, this time for their cousin Stanley. Albus had a feeling he'd be going to every single Hogwarts graduation for at least the next ten years. He would probably be so sick of them by the time he graduated that he wouldn't even want to attend. Stanley's graduation was much the same as Victoire's had been, and Teddy's the year before. "I can't believe my first year is over," Kaden sighed as they were riding the train back to London, "It's definitely been the best year of school ever." "Never a dull moment at Hogwarts, that's for sure," Albus laughed. "I'll say. Wonder what'll happen next spring?" "Hopefully, nothing," Albus replied. He had had enough of the duels with Willinson. All Albus wanted was a school year that did not involve anything Kaden would consider exciting. "I think I'm going to be bored this summer," Kaden announced, "Not being able to do magic." "Oh, I forgot to tell you," Matt began, "My mum said you lot could come spend a few days at my house this summer, if you want." "Yeah!" Kaden shouted excitedly, "Your house has got to be more exciting than mine." "If you want exciting, you ought to see my Uncle Jack's house," Matt said, "You want to come over, Albus and John?" "Definitely," Albus grinned. "Count me in," John said, "I'll be up for getting away from my sisters. Ashtyn's going to be unbearable this summer, what with her going to Hogwarts in the fall." "Lily, too," Albus said. "And Hugo," Rose added. "Well, I haven't got any younger siblings, so we'll have the house to ourselves. Besides my parents, that is," Matt pointed out. "Excellent," John grinned. "So, anyone doing anything exciting this summer? Anymore cool trips, Amanda?" "I don't think so," Amanda said, "I wish we'd go back to Ireland, though." "My parents said we might to to the States to see my uncle," Matt said, "Depends on their work schedules, though. And Amy's." "Nothing exciting for me," Albus said. "Me either," Rose said. "Neither am I," John laughed, "We're pretty boring, aren't we? We'll just have to raise the ruckus at Matt's house." "Good luck with that with my mum around," Matt smirked, "I swear she's got eyes on the back of her head." "I think all mums do," John shook his head, "So, when did your parents say we could come over?" "Dunno," Matt shrugged, "Depends on when we're visiting Uncle Jack, I suppose. I'll owl you." "Sounds good." The remainder of the train ride passed quickly. Albus dozed off towards the end of it, only to be shaken awake by Rose. Albus sat up and looked around the compartment. Matt and Amanda were yawning and sitting up as well. John and Kaden were both completely covered in soot and were cleaning up what looked to be a rather vicious round of Exploding Snap. "You two ought to practice that over the summer," Rose said cheerfully, "And perhaps learn a cleaning charm or two." She pointed her wand at each of their faces in turn and restored them to their usual clean state. "Yeah, yeah," John muttered. "Just you wait," Kaden grinned as he opened the door and walked out into the corridor, "Come September, we'll wipe the floor with you." "I'll believe it when I see it," Rose smiled. Albus laughed to himself as he followed his friends out into the corridor. He joined the throngs of students emerging onto the platform. Albus spotted his parents and Lily, standing next to Rose's parents and Hugo. He pushed through the crowd of students and made his way over to them. Albus was happy to be going home, but at the same time he was excited about the next school year. He would be a third year, which meant he could visit Hogsmeade. Albus grinned to himself as he thought about all the possibilities that Hogsmeade would hold with the new Marauder's Map in his pocket. ~*Fin*~ I hope you liked it! Comments, questions, and general reviews are appreciated!
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Wednesday 22 October 2008 06 33 48 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks, Obladi! I love that line, too. Special thanks to Obladi for coming up with the riddle that's in this chapter! I'm horrible with riddles, so the help was greatly appreciated! Questions, comments, and general reviews are always appreciated! Chapter 29: Light Saber Conquers All "Willinson is acting civil," Albus commented as they were running up a flight of stairs. "Yeah," Matt agreed, "Kind of surprising. Either he really wants to win or he's not as confident without Malfoy." "Probably both," Albus said, "Whatever the reason, we lucked out." Everyone stared as Albus and Matt ran into the common room completely out of breath. "Scavenger hunt," Albus muttered to his cousins Ben and Cedric as he ran by. "Excellent," Ben grinned, "Can't wait until our turn next Saturday." Bilius was also in their dormitory collecting items when Albus and Matt entered. They nodded to each other, but didn't say anything. Albus wrenched open his trunk and started rifling through it. He found a bag of Bertie Botts Beans, a Dumbledore chocolate frog card, his copy of [i]Hogwarts, A History[/i], one Extendable Ear, and the photo album he found in the attic of his house. The graduation picture in the back would work for the Hogwarts graduation picture. "What have you got?" he asked Matt once he emerged from his trunk. "My wand's holly, a muggle pen, band aids, Chudley Cannon jersey, and a Nintendo DS, although I'm not sure why I still bother to bring it since it doesn't work here." "Excellent," Albus grinned, "Let's get back to the Great Hall." When Albus and Matt got back to the Hufflepuff table, Willinson and Rodner had already returned. There was a pile of stuff on the table between them. Albus looked through it and saw that they now had a copy of The Hobbit, color changing ink, a beater's bat, Muggle playing cards, and a sneakoscope. "All right, we've got a good start," Albus said as he added his and Matt's stuff to the pile. "I guess we'll have to ask the older students to borrow the rest. "Rodner," Albus began, "You see if you can get a light saber, a Quaffle signed by Oliver Wood, a Shooting Star broomstick, drum sticks, a receipt from Madam Malkin's, foe glass, and a Beatles CD." "Sure," Rodner said and took off out of the room. "Willinson," Albus turned to the Slytherin, "Go down to the kitchens and see if you can get a silver goblet, tortilla chips, a tea cozy, the names of five House Elves, and a Hershey bar." "Why should I?" Willinson grumbled, "Who put you in charge?" "Someone's got to do it," Albus told him. "Make Eckerton do it." "Him and I are getting the rest," Albus replied, "If you want to win, you'll get the stuff." "Fine," Willinson muttered and left the Great Hall. "Ok, that leaves the shoe laces, empty green potions bottle, purple gloves, a My Little Hippogriff, a toad, purple parchment, a rubber duck, two batteries, and five more Extendable Ears. Oh, and Filch's autograph." "We'll do that one last," Matt shuddered. "We can probably just go back to the common room and ask if anyone's got this stuff." "Good idea," Albus agreed. The two boys set off at a run back to their common room. Luckily it was still packed with students and some of them grinned as Albus and Matt entered. "How's it going?" Ben asked. "Good," Albus grinned back, "But we've got a bunch of stuff to find. Listen up everyone!" he shouted. The entire common room quieted and turned to Albus. Albus was momentarily shocked that everyone actually stopped what they were doing to pay attention to him. "Er, we're doing the scavenger hunt and need some stuff. Has anyone got a My Little Hippogriff, purple gloves, a toad, purple parchment, a rubber duck, batteries, or Extandable Ears? Also, we need twenty shoe laces. I promise we'll return it all once we're done." About half the students got up and went up to their dormitories. A few minutes later they came back down with various items for Albus. He managed to borrow a rubber duck, purple parchment, and a few Extendable Ears. Plus he got at least twenty shoe laces. "That worked well," Albus said as he and Matt left the room. "I'd say so," Matt agreed, "Now Filch's autograph. This ought to be fun." Albus smacked his hand to his forehead, "I should have grabbed the map!" Albus groaned and ran back to the common room. Everyone laughed as he ran up to his dormitory and back down to the common room. Albus ignored them and pointed his wand to the map. A few seconds later he saw that Filch was lurking near the library. Albus and Matt took off for the library and spotted Filch a few yards away from the door. "How are we supposed to ask him?" Albus whispered. "No idea," Matt said back. Albus's heart sped up as he got closer to the old caretaker. "Er, Mr. Filch?" he asked. Filch startled and turned around. He saw Albus and smirked. "Potter. Up to no good again? In need of another detention, perhaps?" "Uh, no," Albus replied, "Actually, I was just, er, well, we're doing this scavenger hunt. Maybe Kendrick told you about it. It's to promote Inter House Unity and we have to find all this stuff throughout the castle and-" "We need your autograph," Matt interrupted, holding a piece of parchment and the Muggle pen in his outstretched hand. Filch stared at them and then started muttering to himself. "Don't see why I should bother... Students never do anything for me..." Nevertheless, Filch took the pen and scribbled his name onto the purple parchment. He thrust it wordlessly back into Matt's hand and shuffled off down the corridor. "That went better than expected," Matt said. "Yeah, thanks. I couldn't really figure out how to ask him." "I figured," Matt grinned, "Anyway, we still need a few things. Hey, Kendrick never mentioned anything about the Room. Do you think we could just ask it for the rest of this?" Albus wondered why he hadn't thought of that. It almost seemed like cheating, but Kendrick never said anything. "That's brilliant!" The two of them set off for the Room, but when they got there, there was a Hufflepuff prefect milling around right in front of the Room. Albus slowly walked back and forth in front of it, keeping an eye on the prefect. He was about to make his third pass, when the prefect stopped him. "Sorry," he said, "You can't go in there if you're in the scavenger hunt. Kendrick's rule." Albus sighed, "All right." "Of course," Matt muttered as they left, "Kendrick couldn't announce that rule because then everyone would find out about the Room. Oh, well. What have we got left?" Albus handed Matt the list and he looked it over for a few seconds. "Hey, I know Madam Pomfrey's got green potion bottles." "Let's go," Albus said, "We'd better hurry, there's only fifteen minutes left." They made it to the Hospital Wing in record time. Albus pushed the door open and walked in, followed by Matt. "I've got patients to tend to!" Madam Pomfrey was shouting at a Ravenclaw first year, "I haven't got time for this scavenger hunt nonsense! You're the fifth person I've had come in here looking for potions bottles and band aids! I haven't got any!" The girl nodded and ran quickly out of the room, completely ignoring Albus and Matt as she went. "Er, she says she hasn't got any," Albus whispered. "I know she does," Matt whispered back, "Let me just ask her." Albus shrugged and followed Matt over to the nurse, who was bent over one of the beds. "Hello, Madam Pomfrey," Matt greeted her. Madam Pomfrey turned around and her irritated face softened immediately when she saw Matt. "Hello, Matt, dear. Are you all right? You look a bit flushed," Madam Pomfrey said and put her hand to his forehead. "I'm fine," Matt assured her, "I've just been running around working on the scavenger hunt." "Not you, too," Madam Pomfrey sighed and then noticed Albus, "Oh and Albus as well." "Yeah," Matt said, "We were just wondering if you might have an empty green potions bottle." The nurse sighed and walked over to her potions cabinet. "I suppose. Just be sure to return it." Albus watched in shock as she returned with the exact item they were looking for. Matt grinned at Albus and took the bottle. "Thanks," Matt smiled. Madam Pomfrey shook her head, "No problem. Have fun, boys." "We will," Matt said as he turned to leave the room. Albus followed him out the door, still in shock that the nurse had actually given them the bottle when she had yelled at that first year only minutes ago. "You're certainly on her good side," Albus muttered after they left the room. "One of the few perks of being there once a month," Matt said dryly. "We'd better get back to the Great Hall," Albus said as he looked at his watch. Albus and Matt ran as fast as they could back to where their team was. The rest of the team was working hard to finish the remaining trivia. Rachel herself was dressed up as Godric Gryffindor, complete with a fake beard. Rodner was dressed up as Helga Hufflepuff. However, neither was as funny as what Willinson was wearing. He was decked out in Gryffindor finest, with robes, a scarf, and a 'Loyal Gryffindor' hat. Albus could hardly stifle his laughter. "Don't say a word, Potter," Willinson growled. "Albus!" Rachel shouted, "You've got to dress up as a Slytherin! The robes I've got are too big for Matt and Abby." Rachel pointed to the other Gryffindor on the team. Albus groaned and Willinson burst out laughing. Albus reluctantly put on the Slytherin robes, scarf, and 'Slytherins Are Best' hat. It would only be for a few minutes and if it helped them win.... Albus did feel a bit strange in the Slytherin robes. He couldn't help but remember back to his sorting and how the hat had wanted to put him in Slytherin at first. If it had, he would be wearing these robes all the time. He might have even been more friendly with Malfoy at first. He probably wouldn't have really befriended John, Matt, or Amanda if he'd been in Slytherin. Albus shook the thought from his head and concentrated on the fact that he was just wearing the robes to help his team win. Rachel took stock of the items on the list as Matt tied all the shoelaces together. It turns out that the only things they were missing were the light saber, Quaffle signed by Oliver Wood, Shooting Star broomstick, foe glass, Hershey's bar, toad, and one battery. Rachel thought that was pretty good. The other Ravenclaw returned a minute later and told everyone that he had finished the riddle quest and had managed to get the bonus points. "Time is up!" Kendrick announced, "The professors will be around soon to check your lists. They will also collect your trivia sheets which will be marked later today. The winner will be announced at dinner tonight." Patil came over to Albus's team a few moments later and looked over their list. She took a picture of the four people who were dressed up, much to Albus's dismay. Now there would be permanent evidence of his Slytherin moment. As soon as the picture was taken, Albus took off the robes and he noticed Willinson doing the same. "Ok," Patil announced as she gathered up the pieces of parchment, "You can leave. Please return anything you borrowed." Albus and Matt gathered up their stuff as well as everything they'd borrowed from various Gryffindors. They stopped by the Hospital Wing to return the bottle and then headed back to their common room. The two of them passed out everyone's stuff and then went to sit down at their usual table. Rose, John, Amanda, and Kaden joined them shortly. "That was fun," Rose said as she sat down. "Yeah," Albus agreed, "Even though we were with Slytherins. Willinson wasn't too bad." "That's good," John said, "I caught a glimpse of him in the Gryffindor robes. Priceless." "Yeah, I thought so. Until I had to put on the Slytherin ones," Albus replied. John burst out laughing, "I wish I'd seen that!" "You'll be able to," Albus told him, "Patil took a picture." "Excellent." "Didn't any of you lot have to dress up?" Albus asked. "I was Helga Hufflepuff," John said. "And I was Godric Gryffindor," Amanda added. "How did everyone do on the list of stuff to find?" Matt asked. "I'm pretty sure my team was the only one with a light saber!" Kaden said excitedly, "I'm so glad I decided to bring it." "We did all right," Rose shrugged, "Missed a lot of stuff, but I think we did well in the trivia." "Of course you did," John grinned. "Hey, did anyone manage to find the potions bottle? Slughorn didn't have any green ones and Madam Pomfrey looked ready to hex me when I asked her. It's not really fair that Kendrick put something on there that was impossible to get." Albus grinned at Matt, who grinned back. "What?" John asked. "We got it," Matt told him. "How?" Kaden asked, "Madam Pomfrey was downright scary when I asked her. May have been because she was busy fixing someone's broken arm, but still...." "Matt asked her and she gave him one," Albus explained. Matt shrugged, "Simple, really." John sighed, "Well, you're probably the only one in the school who could get it. She'd probably give you whatever you asked for." "Why?" Kaden asked curiously. "Sorry, not telling," John replied. Kaden sighed, "Oh, part of that whole secret I can't know about?" "Yeah," John said and then changed the subject, "Hey, did any of you do the riddle thing?" "I did," Rose said, "Want to hear it?" "Of course," John said. "Ok, I'll see if you can get it. I thought it was a bit simple, really," Rose said. She pulled a piece of parchment out of her robes and read off of it. " 'In an event known by wizards worldwide Where good and evil are forced to collide A terrible force can now no longer reside. A place where just one part of Voldemort died.'" Albus looked at John, Matt, and Amanda and shrugged. He didn't think it was simple, but Rose was good at those sorts of things. "No idea," John announced. "Dunno," Matt shrugged. "Hmm," Amanda muttered. "Don't look at me," Kaden said. "The Great Hall?" Albus asked, thinking of the place where Voldemort died. "Nope," Rose grinned, "That was the trick part. It's actually that monument outside, where Professor Longbottom killed Voldemort's snake." "Oh," Albus groaned, "Of course! Didn't even think of that." "How long did it take you to figure it out?" Matt asked. "Not long," Rose smiled, "But then I had to follow the clues to find the bit of information to give Professor Kendrick." "And where was that?" Amanda asked. "Library," Rose grinned, "Herbology section." "Wonder how many teams got it," Albus thought aloud. "Well, my team did, obviously," Rose said, "And you said your team did, Albus. What about you two?" "We didn't," John sighed and Amanda shook her head. "We did," Kaden put in. "Guess we'll find out tonight how everyone did," Albus said. "Yeah," Rose agreed, "But I'm not going to think about it now. Might as well get some homework done." Albus managed to get half an essay done before dinner. Rose wrote an entire essay and did a set of homework questions. Matt helped Amanda with her Astronomy and still got his Herbology done. John and Kaden on the other hand, spent he rest of the afternoon goofing off and playing chess. The excitement was running high in the Great Hall during dinner that evening. Everyone was comparing what they managed to find during the Scavenger Hunt. Albus kept glancing up to the staff table to see when Kendrick would make the announcement, but he seemed to be waiting until the last minute to do so. After what seemed like forever, Kendrick got to his feet. "Good evening, everyone. I hope all the first and second years enjoyed the Scavenger Hunt. It was certainly a success and I'm sure the older students will look forward to their turns. "And, without any further waiting, I shall announce the results. The first, second, and third place teams will all be awarded medals. "In third place, with 572 points, Team Two!" Kendrick announced, "Will the members of Team Two please come up here." "Yes!" Albus shouted and jumped up, "Third place, that's not bad!" "Yeah, I'd say that's pretty good," Matt grinned and followed Albus up to the staff table. Albus and Matt joined the rest of their team in front of the staff table. Kendrick put a bronze medal over each of their necks and pulled out a camera. He took a few pictures and then told them to return to their seats. Rose, Amanda, John, and Kaden congratulated Albus and Matt as they sat back down. A few of Albus's cousins patted him on the back and told him good job. "Excellent, Albus," James grinned, "But my team will get first place next week." "I'll believe it when I see it," Albus rolled his eyes. "And in second place, with 580 points, is Team Seven!" Kendrick announced. The members of Team Seven ran up to the staff table to get their silver medals and have their picture taken. "And in first place, with 673 points, is Team Six!" Kendrick shouted. "Congratulations to the winning team!" "Woohoo!" Kaden stood up and started jumping up and down as he ran up to the staff table, "Yes!" "Wow, who would've thought that," Rose grinned, "Kaden's team won." "Well, he does have a very large amount of random stuff in his dormitory," Albus commented. "I'll bet it was the light saber that put his team over the edge," John shook his head, "I mean, I think his team was the only one to get it." "Probably," Albus shrugged. "I can't believe I won!" Kaden shouted as he sat back down with his big gold medal a few minutes later. "Congratulations," Albus grinned, "At least one of us got first place." "We were so close to second," Matt groaned, "Eight measly points!" "Well, third's good," John muttered, "Better than not getting a medal at all." "Oh, John, it's just a game," Amanda said, "The point is that we all had fun." "Congratulations to our winning teams and everyone else that participated," Kendrick said, "I will be looking forward to the next round, third and fourth years, a week from today!" Albus hung his bronze medal from his bed post before he went to bed that night. He crawled beneath the covers feeling very content with third place. He hadn't really been expecting to win at all. The Scavenger Hunt had been a lot of fun, and Albus hoped Kendrick would hold it again sometime. It had been so much fun, that Albus hadn't even thought about the new map the entire day. He made a mental note to ask Rose about the Sileo Altus charm the next day. They would have to tell Kaden about everything soon if they wanted to make anymore progress on the map. Plus, they'd have to research more about how to prove to the map that they really were like the Marauders.
Comma Joined: 4 September 2008 Posts: 14	Posted: Wednesday 8 October 2008 05 05 18 pm    Post subject: Re: A Gaunt Tale in topic:A Gaunt Tale teyannanecole wrote: I'm still reading and I love it. Keep up the great work! Thank you Since someone is reading it, here's chapter 2. ---- Chapter 2: Heirloom “Sweet Jesus!” Katalina attempted to grip onto her bed on the racing bus to stay put, but the beds were moving, too. The conductor laughed at her panic, and she shot him a dirty look. “Bet you’d do the same thing if you’d never been on this damn thing before!” “I didn’t!” he protested. “I was three at the time, and I thought it was rather entertaining. “Who are you, anyway?” he asked. “You don’t go to Hogwarts, do you?” “I did, for about a week in my first year.” He looked at her oddly for a moment, then he seemed to comprehend. “Oh, aren’t you’re that Gaunt girl that got sorted into Gryffindor?” “That would be me. Katalina Gaunt,” she said. She looked at the window at the front of the bus, decided that looking at that was only going to make her feel nauseous, and chose to stare at her luggage instead. Her memory suddenly started functioning properly. “You’re… Potter, right?” “James Potter,” he said, looking at the window. “We in Hogsmede now, Ernie?” “Ar,” replied the old man behind the wheel. “We’re ’bout to Three Broomsticks, you’ll want to wake up Madam Harte.” “Right…” James stood up reluctantly and almost fell over due to the speed of the bus – now it was Katalina’s turn to laugh. He made his way carefully to the back of the bus. It stopped when Ernie slammed on the brakes (causing everything on the bus to come forward about a foot). James came back to the front with an elderly woman who looked rather sick from the ride and showed her off the bus, then he sat back down on the bed behind the driver’s seat. “London now,” he said to the driver, “Leaky Cauldron.” “What possessed you to want to get a job doing this?” Katalina asked as the bus jumped into motion again. “Are you mad or something?” “No,” he said. “My mum and dad seemed to think I needed to learn to be more responsible after they got a letter from Hogwarts telling them me and my friend made some fake IDs to get firewhiskey at a pub in Hogsmede. My dad’s friends with Ernie here, so he got me a job so I could learn responsibility. I’m not even getting paid for it.” Katalina laughed. “Maybe you’ll think twice before coming back from Hogsmede drunk again, then?” “Possibly.” She rolled her eyes at this, hoping they were near the Leaky Cauldron. She wasn’t sure she could take much more of riding three hundred miles per hour on a bus with a driver that seemed to have taken lessons from a three year old on a tricycle. She looked at the window, but the blurs of colors flashing by them still weren’t telling her much of anything. “We should be there in about another minute, I think,” said James, looking out the window behind him – how could he even tell? “That blur looked familiar,” he explained at seeing her raise her eyebrows. “Oh, well that’s reassuring…” she said sarcastically. “Familiar blurs…” “Hey, it’s worked for me for the past… three months, has it been? Hey, we in London yet, Ernie?” “Ar, ‘bout a mile to the Leaky Cauldron.” “I suppose we’re travelling about a mile a second at this point…” Katalina grumbled. She became aware of the truth in this remark when the bus came to a screeching halt only a moment later. She looked out the window and saw the Leaky Cauldron. “Well what d’you know. I didn’t die.” “’Course not,” James said matter-of-factly. “This is actually a more safe form of travel than apparition, you know. There’s more of a chance of loosing limbs when you apparate than there is of riding on this bus.” “I think I’ll stick to Floo Powder and Portkeys, thanks…” she said, piling bags on top of her trunk. “Makes you dizzier, but at least you can’t get killed from it…” “Not true,” James said. “If you let go of a Portkey in the wrong place, you could end up falling in the ocean or something, you know? And also, if you get out at the wrong grate with Floo Powder, then the people near that grate might kill you if they think you’re threatening them. There’s danger in all forms of travel. You really going to try to carry all of that?” he added, looking at the pile of bags on top of her trunk. “What other choice ‘ave I got?” she said. He sighed. “Well, fine,” he said, standing up, “no need trying to make me feel guilty.” “What? Think I can’t carry it myself?” she said with raised eyebrows. “I think it’d take a giant two hands to carry it,” he said. He picked up most of the bags, managing to sling a few over each of his shoulders. She watched him stumble off of the bus, shrugged, and followed with her trunk and the last of the bags. He had stopped just outside the bus and dropped half of the bags. “What have you got in these bloody things?” he said. “Bricks?” “Close,” she said. “Books. In four out of the five.” “What about the fifth one?” “Clothes, and I’m carrying that one.” He glared at her as she carried her trunk and her bag past him, into the Leaky Cauldron, and managed to pick up the bags of books to carry them in as well. He dropped them behind her at the bar, where she was waiting for Tom, the balding and nearly toothless owner of the Leaky Cauldron, to come over so she could buy a room. “I’m not carrying those anywhere else,” he said, stopping at the bar for a moment to catch his breath. “I’d rather take five Bludgers to my head than have to carry all that mess again.” “I didn’t tell you to,” Katalina said, looking at him. “I mean, thanks and all, but it wasn’t entirely necessary.” He started to say something else as he turned to go, but he froze completely with his mouth hanging open slightly from where he had opened it to speak. Katalina looked at him oddly before also turning around and seeing exactly why he had frozen. She blinked a few times, her eyes wide, before looking down at the small house elf. She looked back up at the man standing in front of it. She swallowed and attempted to keep her composure. “Oh, hello, Dad,” she said calmly, although a voice in her head was screaming in absolute horror at the sight of him – all he needed were red eyes and horns and he would be the spitting image of Satan himself. “What brings you to London so early in the morning?” “Lindy is sorry, Mistress!” squeaked the house-elf at her father’s feet as she hung her head, her ears drooping. “Master threatened Lindy if she didn’t tell him where his daughter had gone!” “Quiet.” Katalina recognized her father’s voice as speaking in Parseltongue, which Lindy had grown to understand after years of hearing it used around the house she worked in. The house-elf cringed slightly. “I’ll deal with you as soon as we get back.” “I don’t know what we you’re talking about,” Katalina said, reaching into her pocket as she spoke, “but I’m not going anywhere. I’m checking into a room here and then going to Hogwarts.” “Oh, you will be coming home –” he began, but he stopped when he found a wand pointed at him. “I’m not going home,” she said loudly. “Leave me be! I’m dead tired of what you call ‘teaching.’ I don’t want to learn about Dark Arts or why what Voldemort is doing is right or how to poison people working at the Ministry. I don’t want to learn what you think I need to know, I want to learn what I do need to know so I can become an Auror one day and hunt you down myself!” She detected something in his eyes for a moment. It didn’t look like anger, but it didn’t look hurt. She wasn’t sure what it was. He wasn’t about to let her find out, either, for his eyes became instantly icy yet again as he looked down at Katalina. “Fine,” he said coolly. “If that’s what you want, then I won’t bother trying to stop you from leaving. I’ll have you know, however, that I’m not going to let you catch me. The Ministry trusts me perfectly well, I do work there, after all. The minister even looks at me as a friend. I somehow doubt he would believe a stupid teenage girl telling him that I’m working for the enemy. I’ll let you think on that while you’re at your bloody school training to be an auror, alright?” He turned, but stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “By the way, I suggest you make friends quickly, as you’re not going to be welcome at my home again.” “Good!” Katalina shot at him as he disapparated, taking the whimpering house-elf with him. She turned back around and heard a low whistle next to her. “So that’s Timothy Gaunt?” James said. “Bloody hell, he looks like the devil or something. Glad I don’t have to live with him.” “Neither do I, now,” Katalina said as Tom moved away from some other customers over to her end of the bar. “I might just stay here durring my summers. Might be able to get a better deal if I stay all summer, it does have some nice rooms.” –– [i]Professor Dumbledore, Hello. This is Katalina Gaunt. I think you probably remember about four years ago, when I was sorted into a Hogwarts house like most other eleven year old witches and wizards and my father came to pull me out because he didn’t like the idea of me being in Gryffindor – don’t let him lie to you, either, that was why. You’re definitely intelligent, so I’m sure you knew. I haven’t worked out why you let him yet, but that isn’t as important right now. I was hoping you would allow me to attend Hogwarts for my last three years? My father’s already caught me. He basically told me if I go, I’m not allowed back in his home ever again, but that’s fine by me, I’m positive I’ll be able to find somewhere to stay. I am at the Leaky Cauldron at this moment and will be for the next few days. If I’m allowed to attend, please send me a letter including what I need for my fifth year. Also, if it’s all fine and well, I would like to take Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies as my extra electives – since I’m past my third year, it’s my choice, isn’t it? That’s what it said in Hogwarts, a History, so I assume it’s right. Please let me know soon, since there’s only a few days until the Hogwarts Express leaves. Oh! Also, this is very important. I have a house elf that my mother left me, Lindy, who wants to know if she can work at Hogwarts because she likes my dad about as much as I do and because she was instructed by my mother to keep an eye on me or something along those lines, apparently. Let me know if that’s alright so I can tell her, please? Please get back to me soon, Katalina Gaunt[/i] Katalina bit her thumbnail as she read over her letter to the headmaster of Hogwarts, hoping there would be enough time for her to shop for school supplies. Including today, she had four days. One day would probably be enough to shop for supplies and get packed. Her hopes were high that she would be able to attend Hogwarts this year. She rolled up the letter and tied it before handing it to an eagle owl she had borrowed from Tom that was perched on top of the dresser in the room. It bit her finger before taking the letter in its talons, for which she glared at it. “Was that really necessary?” she said. It hooted in response. “Yeah, apology accepted. Mind taking that to Dumbledore for me?” It hooted again before flapping its wings a couple of times (successfully knocking her bottle of ink over in the process and spilling it on her parchment) and flew out the open window into the early morning sunlight. She decided that regardless of whether of not she was going to Hogwarts, she would probably need to head out and buy some new ink and a couple spare rolls of parchment. She didn’t much like that owl and couldn’t help but wonder if it would drop her letter on the ground out of spite. She quickly brushed her pessimism from her mind and told herself that mean, spiteful, hateful, evil owl would deliver her letter to Hogwarts without losing it. She lay back on the bed in the hotel room, staring up at the ceiling. It was only eight o’ clock in the morning, too early to go out – she decided she would wait a couple more hours, since she had been up all night. When she closed her eyes to attempt a couple hours of sleep, she saw a pair of eyes glaring back at her projected onto the backs of her eyelids. She opened her eyes immediately. That must have been her mind’s way of reminding her of why she hadn’t gotten any sleep. After hours of thinking about it, she had finally figured out what she had seen in her father’s eyes when he had apparated silently behind her the night before – fear. The one thing she couldn’t figure out was why. He had never been afraid of her in the past, and her threats had been idle ones. He knew perfectly well that she wanted to work in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic when she finished her schooling, not become a chaser of users of the Dark Arts. All she knew about the Department of Mysteries was that she needed a good knowledge of Divination and the theory behind it to work there. She wasn’t about to become an Auror and loose half of her limbs in the process, especially not with someone like Voldemort around. She wanted him gone as badly as anyone else, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to be the one to get rid of him. Of course, the Minister of Magic, Edolphus Hemwick, was nothing more than an idiot in a position of power. He was still denying the existence of Voldemort to the public, and he would probably continue to do so either until Voldemort was gone or until he and others within the ministry saw Voldemort for themselves. Katalina had the unfortunate pleasure of having had seen Voldemort, as her father had offered their house up as headquarters for the “Death Eaters,” Voldemort’s most loyal followers, a few years back before Voldemort found a better and less detectable command center to work from. Maybe Voldemort was the reason her father was afraid? He might have been afraid of being alone in that house. Had he wronged his lord in some way that would put his life at danger if he was alone? No, that seemed utterly ridiculous. The day that her father offended his lord would be the day the earth and the sun collided, and the Muggles that were keeping a close eye on such things in their solar system had yet to detect any signs of this happening in the near future. Something about Katalina leaving did scare him, however, and not knowing what it was would only bother her. As an idea dawned in her mind, she sat up in her bed. That was all it was – he was trying to keep her off the focus of her goal of getting to Hogwarts! That had to be it – he had intentionally let her see an small flash of fear in his eyes to make her wonder why and to make her want to come back home to find out so he could continue the maddening torture that he considered to be homeschooling. Well, she wasn’t going to let it worked. She crossed her arms and fell back onto her bed with an indignant “Hmph!”, deciding that her theory could have been nothing short of accurate and that her father was mad if he thought his stupid plan was going to work. –– Timothy Gaunt sat at the table in his kitchen, staring blankly at the door on the other side of the room. His thoughts were miles away from that door, however; they were off in the Malfoy manner, as headquarters, where the Dark Lord resided. He wondered how long it would be before the Dark Lord received word of this error of his. He strummed his fingers on the table, his eyes travelling down to his father’s ring. For whatever reason, Voldemort had had his eye on the jewel for years now, ever since he had begun going by “Voldemort” rather than his “Muggle name,” as he had so often referred to it. As Tom Riddle he had paid it little attention, but he seemed now to have developed a strange fascination with it. Anything that Tom Riddle – or Voldemort – ever found fascinating was generally something that no one wanted him to get his hands on. Timothy was sure at this point he would be killed. In fact, there was no doubt of it in his mind. It would probably be Voldemort himself to do it – his mistake had been much too big this time. Of all Voldemort’s followers, Timothy had made the fewest mistakes. For this reason, he was Voldemort’s right-hand man. It had nothing to do with their friendship in school or his knowledge of Voldemort’s past. After all, Tom Marvolo Riddle was dead. He had died the moment the first Horcrux had been made in the eyes of Timothy Gaunt, and had been taken over by his own alter ego – Lord Voldemort. As the first of the Death Eaters, Timothy had instantly become the number one. As he also became the most reliable, this status as number one was a sealed deal. After a prophecy made by his own wife as well as an error in judgment on her part, Timothy Gaunt had alone been entrusted by Voldemort with one job. He had failed to accomplish this job. For this reason, he would be dead in a matter of weeks, just like his wife. To the Dark Lord, friendship was weakness. Timothy Gaunt was only a follower – a pawn, if you will – and not a friend, so there was no avoiding it. All that was left, Timothy supposed as he looked down at a bare sheet of parchment in front of him and the bottle of ink next to it, was to keep Voldemort away from his father’s ring. And so, he picked up the quill from the bottle of ink and began writing: I, Timothy Morfin Gaunt, leave to my son, Alfred Gaunt… “Father?” Scowling, Timothy crumpled the parchment into a ball before his son could read it. “Yes?” “Do you have any idea where that wretched house-elf is?” “Outside, last I said,” said Timothy, taking to staring aimlessly across the kitchen again. “Crushing her ears under a rock for letting your sister escape or letting me find out about it, one or the other.” “She’s gone? Where to?” “Hogwarts.” “Oh, well that’s wonderful…. Aren’t you going to get her out again?” “I’m done bothering with her. I’ve informed her she will need to find a new home as well. You’ll have no reason to worry about it.” “Good,” he sneered. “I was beginning to get tired of having to live with traitorous filth. I’ll be looking for that elf – I believe she’s started stealing my money….” Timothy heard the kitchen door close a moment later and decided this would have to wait until his son was off to school. The distraction had definitely done good; it had given Timothy a moment to notice the silver chain hanging around his neck. At this, he had realized there was more than one family heirloom he would need to keep out of Voldemort’s grasp.
Comma Joined: 4 September 2008 Posts: 14	Posted: Sunday 28 September 2008 08 44 26 pm    Post subject: Re: A Gaunt Tale in topic:A Gaunt Tale As I'm hopeful that maybe [i]someone[/i] might still be reading this, I'm going to post chapter 1 now. ------------ Chapter 1 Runaway Summer was the worst time of year for Katalina. She had grown accustomed to locking herself in her room and eating dinner when her father and brother were asleep, knowing she was bound to get hexed by someone if she came down durring the day. She had endured three summers of this madness so far and was just beginning her fourth, which she planned to be her last. After a bit of studying, she had learned about the Knight Bus, which she was going to take to the Leaky Cauldron in London and stay there. Her father might find her, but she had no intentions of going back. He had taught her more than enough to be able to stand up to him, which was – in her opinion, anyway – his one mistake. Once at the Leaky Cauldron, she would borrow an owl from someone and send a letter to Dumbledore explaining her situation. If abuse wasn’t enough to keep her father from getting her back out of school, she didn’t know what was, and the Cruciatus Curse could have been nothing short of abuse. If Dumbledore accepted, she would be sent a letter telling her what she needed for school. She had learned everything she was supposed to from her father up to that point; he had just decided to twist a few different things around. She suspected she knew plenty to come to Hogwarts for her fifth year. She did need money, however. In her will, her mother had left quite a large sum of money to Katalina alone. She had already taken the key to that vault and planned to use it to buy her school supplies. She planned to leave on the night of August 29, giving her a couple days to buy her school supplies and a few days to stay at the Leaky Cauldron before again catching the Knight Bus to King’s Cross Station to get on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. She knew that it cost money to ride the Knight Bus, so she had taken a bit of money from her brother’s stash (it wasn’t like he was going to miss it, he had plenty more and their father gave him whatever he wanted). She waited anxiously all day on August 28 – she planned to go out at midnight. She had all of her things packed and stowed away in her closet where her father couldn’t see them if he barged in. It was lucky, as he had chosen to barge in at around eight o’ clock on the evening of August 28, looking somewhere between livid and bemused. “Have you any idea what happened to the key to your mother’s Gringotts vault?” he asked her. “No.” She silently thanked whatever higher power there was for allowing her to inherit her father’s knack for lying. “Is it missing?” “Yes,” he said. “You’re sure you haven’t seen it?” “I haven’t. Lindy might’ve taken it, she seems to like taking Mum’s old things.” “I figured she probably had…” Grumbling about house-elves being ignorant creatures, he turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Katalina picked up her wand from her bedside table and flicked it in the direction of the doorknob, which locked itself accordingly when a jet of purple and red sparks hit it. That was the good thing about living in a town that consisted much of witches and wizards: she could just blame any indication of underage sorcery coming from their area on the neighbors if the ministry came knocking, and they would never know the difference. She was safe as long as her father didn’t catch her at it. She jumped at the sound of a loud crack in her room and looked around. She jumped again when she turned her head and almost hit her nose on something else’s nose. She then shook her head, looking at the house elf that seemed to have taken a great liking to her. “Lindy,” she said, sitting up and grasping her chest to keep her heart from beating out of it. “Why in the world can’t you just knock on the door?” “Master Gaunt is looking for Lindy!” she whispered. Katalina couldn’t help but wonder how even her whisper was squeaky. “Can’t Mistress hide Lindy? He thinks Lindy stole Mistress Gaunt’s Gringotts key and Lindy didn’t, Lindy wouldn’t ever do such a thing!” “Well…” said Katalina, biting the corner of her lip, “it is sort of my fault… but if I hide you, you’ll owe me.” “Anything, Miss!” Lindy piped, her large ears twitching. “Shh, he’ll hear you if you keep squeaking!” She clasped both of her hands over her mouth and nodded obediently. “Hide in the closet behind the trunk. If he checks, he’ll see the trunk and overreact as it is, he’ll never notice you.” Lindy nodded. With a crack, she vanished, and Katalina heard another crack, indicating she had reappeared in the closet. Katalina lay back down on her bed and continued to stare up at the ceiling, counting the minutes until midnight. It wasn’t until a couple hours later that she heard two loud pops, and she looked over to see Lindy again. “Master Gaunt has stopped searching for Lindy,” she whispered. “What does young Mistress Gaunt wish for Lindy to do in return for letting Lindy hide in her closet?” “I would quite appreciate it if you would apparate me and my belongings to the next block over,” said Katalina, looking back up at the ceiling and tucking her hands behind her head. “Preferably near a road, but not near any Muggles.” “Of course!” She paused for a moment, her wide purplish eyes looking at Katalina curiously. “May Lindy ask why?” “I’m going back to Hogwarts. Keep it a secret from my father that you helped me, I don’t want you getting into any trouble.” “But young Mistress Gaunt’s mother left Lindy to Mistress!” Lindy said. “If Mistress Gaunt leaves, Lindy must as well.” Katalina looked at Lindy, blinking. “Did she? First an invisibility cloak, then thousands of galleons, now a house elf? Huh. I wonder if she really was that bad…” “She treated Lindy kindly,” Lindy said, nodding. “But she wasn’t nice to muggleborns.” “I figured as much…” Katalina said with a sigh. “It’s a couple more hours yet, anyway. If I can, I’ll figure out some arrangement that will allow you to go to Hogwarts with me. Maybe you can work there or something. If not, I’ll have to send you back here until I find somewhere to move to on my own.” “Where is Mistress Gaunt going from a block over?” “Catching a ride on the Knight Bus,” she said. “I don’t want you coming with me at first. I know you don’t want to come back here, but if Dumbledore is willing to let you work at Hogwarts, then I’ll let you know.” “May Lindy ask why Mistress is going by the Knight Bus? Lindy could apparate her there herself!” “I’m headed to the Leaky Cauldron in London. There are Muggles around that area who’ve probably never seen a house elf before.” “Oh, yes, of course.” Lindy nodded. “Should Lindy stay in here until Mistress Gaunt is ready to leave?” “If you want. Gets pretty dull, though.” Lindy gave a furtive glance at the door. “Lindy doesn’t want Master Gaunt to find her…” she whispered. “Master Gaunt is angry with Lindy even though Lindy didn’t take the key to the vault!” Katalina sat up on her rather lumpy and uncomfortable bed and looked at the house-elf, who still looked completely confused about the current situation with the key. “I took the key, Lindy. Mum left me her money and I’ll need some way to pay for my books, Father just thinks you did it. You have to admit, you do have an odd habit of taking Mum’s old things and stashing them away in my closet.” “No, no, no, Lindy is only giving things to their rightful owner! Mistress Gaunt’s mother left them to her and Master doesn’t want her to have them but Mistress Gaunt’s mother told Lindy to give them to Mistress Gaunt before she died.” “She – Lindy,” Katalina said, leaning forward, “are you saying she knew she was going to die?” Lindy’s eyes became impossibly wide at this question. “Lindy said too much. Lindy shan’t say another word.” Katalina gave a growl of frustration at the elf before lying down on her bed again. The house elf was the only resident at that house that knew anything about her mother that she might have been interested in. She imagined her father probably knew, but Lindy was the only one who might accidently let something slip on occasion. She always stopped herself before she said anything interesting, however. Katalina quickly seized her copy of Hogwarts, a History from Lindy, which she was attempting to use to beat herself over her head. That was the other thing: when Lindy did let something slip, she had a tendency to abuse herself as punishment. She had once fried her own fingers on a frying pan for telling Katalina that Voldemort had gone to Hogwarts at the same time as her father. The worst type of house elf was the type that liked to gossip, as they generally only heard secrets that they weren’t supposed to tell anyone. Katalina felt a little bad for Lindy; the poor little elf just couldn’t help herself half the time. –– [i]“What did I tell you about sneaking back into that school?” Katalina sat at the dining room table, her arms crossed, glaring at the wall defiantly. “I have selective hearing. Please feel free to refresh my memory at any time.” “I have told you about back talking me!” Katalina gave a yelp when the chair she was sitting in was turned around. She looked up at her father, who looked back down lividly. She managed to keep her composure, despite how scary her father could be when angry. He rather reminded her of many biblical depictions of Satan, particularly because of the black goatee. She didn’t flinch until she heard a squeaky voice from next to her. “But Master, she just wants to go to Hogwarts! Master went to Hogwarts when he was young!” “Be quiet, you stupid creature!” he snarled, glaring down at Lindy. She hid behind Katalina’s chair. “I’ll deal with you later.” “After you deal with me?” said Katalina indignantly. “Go ahead and try! You’ve used the Cruciatus Curse on me so many damn times it hardly hurts anymore!” “Shut up!” She jumped as she suddenly found his wand pointed between her eyes. She nearly went cross-eyed looking at it. “You’re never going to comprehend anything I’ve taught you, are you? The old ways –” “Are called ‘old’ because there are new, more acceptable ways to live by,” Katalina said through gritted teeth. She recoiled, however, when she remembered the wand. “Your great aunt was a good deal smarter than you, obviously. When she ran away, she didn’t get caught. Do you know what would have happened to her if her father had caught her? He’d have killed her.” “You didn’t even give me any time to answer!” “Do you know what’s going to happen to you now that you’ve been caught?” Katalina’s eyes widened. “A Gaunt who doesn’t accept their family names isn’t worth the space they take up. You’re not a Slytherin, you don’t believe in Dark Arts, you don’t believe in the old ways. You think Muggles are decent people, for God’s sake! I don’t blame you at all. It’s quite obvious that I’ve failed with you. There’s only one thing that I can see to do.” Katalina shook her head, her mouth hanging open. “You’re… you’ve gone mad! I’m your daughter, you can’t kill me! It’s both immoral and illegal. You’ll go to Azkaban!” “Would you be quiet?” he said through gritted teeth. “You’re insane –” “Avad–”[/i] “Mistress Gaunt!” Katalina sat straight up in her bed, looking around for the source of the voice. She fell back down on her bed upon spotting Lindy. She put her arm over her forehead and shut her eyes for a moment, hoping she would quit having that dream when she got out. Its reoccurrences were beginning to disturb her a little. “Mistress, it’s midnight and Mistress wanted to leave at midnight!” Katalina sat back up again quickly and looked at her room. All of her luggage was already out of the closet. She tilted her head as she looked at the pile, then she directed her attention to house elf looking completely pleased with herself seated atop the pile. “Lindy has already prepared Mistress’s luggage!” she whispered happily. “Is Mistress ready to leave?” “What about my Hogwarts –” “Lindy put Hogwarts, a History in a bag, too.” “Oh, good.” Katalina grabbed her wand and stuck it in her pocket, then pulled her invisibility cloak out from under her pillow and slung it over her shoulder. “How are you going to apparate me?” “Just touch the luggage. Lindy is apparating the luggage, so Mistress will also be apparated.” “Oh, good, then. I hope apparating isn’t nearly as unpleasant as Portkey travel…” Katalina walked over to the luggage and put her hand on her largest trunk. “Is Mistress ready?” “Definitely,” Katalina said, looking at Lindy. “Go on.” “Okay! Three… two… one… and go!” As it turned out, apparating was twice as unpleasant as Portkeys. Travelling by Portkey felt rather like spinning through the air. Floo Powder also felt like spinning, just through different fireplaces. This, however, felt like being sucked through a keyhole. However, seconds later, it stopped, and they were on an empty stretch of road, all of Katalina’s belongings still there. Katalina fell over when she felt her feet land on the ground, which caused a giggle from the house elf still sitting atop her luggage. “Mistress isn’t used to apparating at all,” Lindy pointed out, jumping down off of the stack of luggage. “How do you get the Knight Bus here?” “Like so.” Katalina stuck out her right hand and waited a moment. She then heard something that sounded a bit like crashing and sputtering, and something large and purple was zooming into view from off in the distance. Lindy stared in interest as a purple triple-decker bus came to a screeching halt in front of them. Then the door opened and a conductor in a purple uniform stepped off with an index card in one hand and what appeared to be a ham sandwich in the other. He appeared to be reading off of the card as he spoke through a mouthful of sandwich. “’Elcoom ‘oo the Knigh’ Boosh, merg’ncy tr’nspert fer ‘a strand’d wish o’ wuzzard.” Katalina and Lindy were both struggling not to laugh, but he managed to swallow the sandwich and then continued. “Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is ‘insert name here’ and I will be – wait, no – that’s… that’s not right… oh, ‘ell, I’m too tired for this anyway…” He shook his head and put the card in a pocket on the front of his purple shirt. He looked up. “Where’re you planning on going with all that mess?” He said, indicating the luggage. He pushed his round glasses up the bridge of his nose, and Katalina was sure she recognized him. She couldn’t put a name to him, but he had been in the same compartment as her on the Hogwarts Express for her first year… or first week, rather. “To the Leaky Cauldron,” she said. “How much would it cost?” “From here? ‘Round… nine sickles, probably.” “That’s good, I’ve got enough then…” she mumbled, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a handful of silver coins. She counted out nine and handed them to the conductor, then put the rest back in her pocket. “Lindy, you mind helping with the luggage?” “Of course, Mistress,” she said. Both she and the luggage were gone with a pop, and then Lindy was back by herself with another one. “It’s up near the front of the bus.” “Thanks.” Lindy gave a short bow in response. “Should Lindy go back home now?” asked Lindy in a whisper. “For now, yes,” said Katalina quietly as the conductor looked back on the bus in disbelief at the sudden transportation of the large pile of luggage. “I’ll let you know more as soon as I can, I’ll start working on the letter to Dumbledore as soon as I get on the bus.” “Lindy will go home for now and wait patiently then, Mistress. Goodbye!” She snapped her long fingers and disappeared. The conductor looked back at the sound of the snap and shook his head. “Wish I had one of those…. Come on then, we haven’t got all night… er… morning, actually, I think.” “I’m coming,” Katalina said through gritted teeth, pushing her way past the conductor of the bus. “Oi, watch it!” he said, stumbling out of the way before getting on the bus himself. “That wasn’t very polite!” Katalina rolled her eyes and sat down on one of the many beds situated across the bus that took the place of regular seats like there were on Muggle busses. It was rather interesting to look at, as she had only read about it before. She wondered how the beds stayed in place while the bus was moving. “Leaky Cauldron in London, Ernie,” the conductor said to the driver before taking a seat on an empty bed near the front of the bus. Katalina reached down next to her bed and opened one of her bags to pull out a roll of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. She heard a laugh from the bed across the isle, behind the driver’s seat. “I wouldn’t suggest doing that while you’re on here,” said the conductor, picking up a copy of the Daily Prophet from next to him. “And why not?” Katalina asked indignantly. “You’ll probably end up spilling ink all over everything,” he said. Katalina found out quite quickly, when the bus jumped into motion at around a hundred miles per hour – maybe more – exactly why this wasn’t the best environment for writing letters.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Wednesday 10 September 2008 11 50 42 am    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind It's almost Christmas time in this fic! I know Fawkes told me she was looking forward to the Christmas chapters. Well, the one after this begins the Christmas chapters! I have come up with a plot for the sequel to this and can't wait to get started. I'll be tying in elements and characters from [i]In Moonlight's Shadow[/i] as well, so if you haven't started reading that, I'd suggest it! Questions, comments, and general reviews are always welcome! Chapter 20: The Missing Map Saturday was soon upon them and with it came a howling snow storm. Albus was very happy that there was a dueling tournament and not a Quidditch match. He had played Quidditch in snow before, but never in conditions that prevented him from seeing his own hands in front of him. Today's storm was so bad that Kendrick forbade anyone from going outside, but he needn't have bothered since no one wanted to go outside in the first place. After lunch, half the school migrated into the dueling room and waited for the tournament to begin. Albus and Amanda said goodbye to their friends and sat down at the table they had been at the previous tournament. "Hi Albus, hi Amanda!" Kate greeted them energetically. "Hi Kate!" Albus grinned. He sat down at the only remaining seat, which happened to be next to Malfoy. Amanda had managed to snag a seat next to Kate. "Malfoy," Albus said politely. "Potter," Malfoy muttered. The tournament commenced much as it had the previous time, only this time everyone knew what they were doing and it went smoother. There was still a lot of sitting around time and Albus was very happy that Amanda was on his team so he had someone to talk to. So far, there were still tensions between the Slytherins and everybody else. Kendrick's plan to have everyone get along was not working. After about a half hour, it was finally Albus's turn to duel. Malfoy had just completed his first duel and beat his Ravenclaw opponent. Albus congratulated him as he went up to the dueling area. He was up against a Hufflepuff third year. Albus and the other boy bowed and the two of them started dueling. The Hufflepuff sent two jinxes at Albus, but Albus blocked them both. Albus hit the boy with a trip jinx and then disarmed him. The whole thing took about a minute. "Point to Potter!" Neville announced. "Good job, Albus!" Kate and Amanda said in unison once Albus returned to his seat. "Thanks." "Hardly counts," Malfoy commented, "You dueled a bloody Hufflepuff. A first year could've beat that one." "Shut up, Malfoy. You'll duel a Hufflepuff eventually and I doubt you'll say the same thing." "Your short friend is up," Malfoy pointed to the dueling area that Harry was presiding over. Albus looked up and saw that Matt was about to duel one of the other Hufflepuffs. "I'll bet that Hufflepuff beats him," Malfoy laughed, "He doesn't look that good." Albus personally thought Matt looked all right, considering he had just gotten out of the Hospital Wing the day before. "Where's he been anyway?" "He was sick." "Oh, right," Malfoy grinned, "With that disease he's got. The one your stupid cousin told me about. If there's anyone who should've been a Hufflepuff, it's that cousin of yours." "Don't call him stupid. And the Hat knows better than you do about where to put him," Albus snapped. He didn't tell Malfoy that he had thought Kaden would have been a Hufflepuff. "Whatever you say. I wonder if your cousin's got anymore information that I'd like to know." "Don't go near my cousin," Albus growled. "Cut it out, you two!" Kate interrupted. "In case you haven't realized by now, you're on the same team." Albus glared at Malfoy and then turned to watch the rest of Matt's duel. It took him a while, but Matt did eventually beat the Hufflepuff. He looked worn out, but happy. "Told you he could beat him," Albus muttered. "Lucky shot," Malfoy whispered back. Albus and Malfoy didn't talk to each other for the rest of the tournament. Both boys won their next duels, Malfoy against a Slytherin and Albus against a Ravenclaw. Amanda lost her first duel and won her second. John won his first and lost his second. Matt lost his second one and Rose managed to win both of hers. But despite their best efforts, none of their teams won the tournament. It didn't really matter though because the points were so close. The final tournament was still very up in the air and any of the teams had a chance of making it. ****** The remaining days until the end of term went by very fast for Albus. Albus was especially excited about the Christmas holiday this year because it meant that Albus and his friends would acquire two more of the paw prints needed for the map. Rose had just perfected the transference charm and had already started searching for the charm to keep Kaden quiet. After Christmas, the only thing left to do would be to get the rat print. Albus thought it was quite funny that the smallest and theoretically easiest print to get was taking the longest. John had yet to manage to catch a rat during potions class and was getting frustrated about it. "Every time I see a rat, one of the bloody Slytherins is looking!" John vented the evening before their last day of classes. The group of Gryffindors were in the Room of Requirement, enjoying some peace and quiet while Kaden was being tutored by one of the Ravenclaws. "Try luring one over to your desk with cheese or something," Amanda suggested, "Then just stun it below the desk." "Hadn't thought of that," John muttered, "I'd been trying to stun them across the room." "I wonder why anyone would notice that?" Rose said sarcastically. "Shut it, Rose." "Well, you've got plenty of time to get it," Albus reminded him, "We still haven't got the dog or the stag prints." "We'll get them soon," Rose replied, "Amanda will get the dog and we'll get the stag, Albus. You can come over to my house after we leave the Burrow." "Sounds good," Albus agreed, "I'm not staying at the Burrow the whole holiday anyway." "Oh, yeah," Rose smirked, "Gran and Granddad are going on holiday together, alone." "That's not something I really care to think about, Rose," Albus groaned. His grandparents had decided to go to Scotland together a few days after Christmas and spend new year's alone. "Moving on. What are you lot doing for the holiday?" "The usual," John said immediately, "All my cousins coming over at various times. Should be crazy as always." "I've really got to go to your house sometime," Albus grinned, "You always say your cousins are mad, but I really don't think your family is as insane as mine is." "I'm sure it is. My great-great grandpa is coming this year. He's hilarious, especially after he's had a couple firewhiskeys." "Your great-great grandpa drinks firewhiskey?" Matt laughed, "That's something I've got to see." "He sure does. Then he starts telling ridiculous stories about 'back in my day'." "Sounds like we should hook him up with Auntie Muriel, eh Rose?" Albus winked at his cousin. "That would be the funniest thing ever," Rose grinned. "Your great-great grandpa sounds like our Auntie Muriel. She's 127 and loves to gossip," Albus explained. "I wish I had mad relatives," Amanda commented, "My family sounds pretty normal compared to yours." "But you celebrate Hannukah, so that makes up for it," John replied, "I mean, who wouldn't like eight days of presents? I wish I celebrated both, that would be the best thing ever." "Amy has a Muggle friend who celebrates both. But she doesn't get presents on every night of Hannukah," Matt told them. "I get small presents each night and then one big one on the last night," Amanda explained. "That's still cool," John said, "So, Matt, do you have to go visit your grandparents this year?" "Ugh, don't remind me," Matt groaned, "Of course I do. But only for five days this year. We're leaving right before new year's. Amy has to be back at St. Mungo's a few days before term starts." "That's good," Albus smiled. "At least you don't have to be there as long." "It'll still be boring. The only thing to do down there is homework or read. It's not like I can play Quidditch or anything." "What day are you coming back? Maybe you can come over to Rose's house with me. Then we can play Quidditch," Albus offered. "The 28th. I'll ask my parents." "Great. You should come too, John and Amanda," Albus suggested. "I'll ask, I'm sure my parents will let me," John replied. "I can probably only stay a day or so," Amanda told them, "Hannukah is late this year and starts on Christmas, so it'll still be going on on the 28th. I'll have to be home by the evening." "That'll work. Maybe we can all get the stag print together," Albus said. "Good idea," John grinned and everyone else nodded. "I should probably tell you now, just in case I don't get to go to Rose's house," Matt began quietly, "I'm not coming back to Hogwarts on the train with everyone else." Albus stared at his friend, who was looking a little forlorn. "Why not? Everything ok?" "I guess. It's just that I'm starting that new potion I told you about at the beginning of the term. The full moon's on the 9th and someone has to observe me once I start taking it a few days before. Then I've got to go to St. Mungo's the morning after and stay a couple days." "Oh," Albus wasn't really sure what to say. He wished more than ever that someone would just discover a potion that would work for him. "Look on the bright side," John said, "At least you don't have to transform at your grandparents house again." "And if I have my way I'll never have to do that again," Matt shook his head, "But let's talk about something else. Did you see in the Prophet that the Cannons almost won that game against the Fitchburg Finches? You know, that American team they were playing for practice." "Didn't the Finches beat them by 50 points?" Albus asked. "Yeah, but that's close!" Matt grinned, "They're making a comeback, I just know it!" "Well, with a name like 'Finches', what do you expect? It wouldn't have surprised me if the Cannons beat them," John laughed, "Well, maybe a little. But seriously, who names a team the 'Finches'?" ****** The term ended the next day with a bang, literally. James and a few of his friends thought it would be funny to put a few Weasley fireworks into the suits of armor and charm them to go off at certain times during the day. After the tenth explosion the teachers gave up trying to teach anything and just let their students do what they wanted during class, within reason of course. Unfortunately for James and his friends, Professor Cedonia spotted them refilling the armor on the second floor corridor with fresh fireworks and gave them one of her rare detentions. For this one, they had to clean every single suit of armor on the second floor corridor that evening. James said it was worth it, though. "We really ought to come up with a few good pranks," John decided as they were traveling through the hills on the train. "That's what the Marauders did, was prank people, so we should, too." Albus shrugged. He really wasn't very good at coming up with pranks. That was James's area of expertise. Plus, if the result of such pranks was cleaning suits of armor, Albus really didn't want to pull a whole lot of pranks. "Maybe a few minor ones, that don't get us in huge trouble." "I'm sure we could do some of those. There's loads of stuff we could do to the Slytherins." "Yeah, like that one James did before the first dueling tournament," Matt laughed. The rest of the train ride went quickly and soon Albus and his friends found themselves at King's Cross. Albus climbed off the train and saw his parents standing with Rose's parents and Lily and Hugo. But before Albus could go over to see them, John grabbed his arm and steered him in another direction. "C'mon, you can meet my great-great grandpa!" Albus saw a very frail, completely bald, old man with a long white beard standing next to John's parents. John lead their group over to the three adults. "Johnny-Boy!" the old man shouted and gave John a tight hug, "How're things at that school? How is Professor Dippet?" "He died years ago, Grandpa, like I told you over the summer. Like I tell you every summer," John stifled a laugh. "Oh, right! Probably all new teachers, a bunch of young'ins I bet! Back in my day none of the teachers were under 50, and now some of em are 30! What has gotten into these new headmasters...." "Grandpa," John shook his head, "The teachers are fine. But I want you to meet my friends. This is Matt Eckerton, Albus Potter-" "Potter!?" John's great-great grandpa peered into Albus's eyes and grinned, "Albus Potter? Well I'll be. If it isn't Harry Potter's son! I remember back in the days of You-know-who and nobody thought he would ever be defeated, and then along comes little Harry Potter and poof! You-know-who's gone! Then he comes back and what should happen again? Harry Potter makes 'im disappear again and for good this time!" Albus, who was used to this kind of attention but not someone shouting it at the top of their lungs, blushed and tried to ignore the stares of everyone around him. "Er, nice to meet you." "You, too," the old man smiled, "And who are these girls? Have you got yourself two girlfriends, Johnny-Boy? I wouldn't recommend it. I did it once and wound up with no girlfriends after they found out!" "No, Grandpa," John laughed, "They're just friends. Amanda Tagger and Rose Weasley." "Are you sure? I could see you with the redhead. Just wait till you're older." "Just friends, Grandpa," John's cheeks turned red. "He's like the male version of Muriel," Albus whispered to Rose. "Muriel!?" John's grandpa shouted. Albus jumped. He hadn't expected that the elderly man would be able to hear him. "I used to know a Muriel! Went to school with her. Then she married some Weasley. I haven't seen her in decades!" Albus looked at Rose. What a coincidence. "Er, Albus and I have an Aunt Muriel Weasley," Rose giggled. "Well I'll be! I should owl her sometime." "I'm sure she'd love that," Rose smiled. "We're going to have to go now," John's mum announced. "See you later," John waved. "Bye," Albus grinned. "Tell your dad I said hi!" John's great-great grandpa shouted. ****** Albus spent the next few days hanging around Grimmauld Place with James and the rest of his family. Lily was thrilled to have both her brothers and her dad home and she had been demanding to know everything that had gone on the past term. "That way I'll know everything about Hogwarts before I'm even there!" she said excitedly at breakfast the day before Christmas Eve. "You still haven't told me how I'll get sorted." "We're not going to tell you, Lily," Ginny smiled as she handed Lily a glass of juice, "It's a surprise." "That's not fair," Lily whined. "Nobody told me or Al how we got sorted, so how is it not fair for you not to know?" James asked. "I'm the youngest. I should know everything about Hogwarts because you two have been there for a few years! And then all the Muggle-born kids will ask me questions and I'll be able to answer them." "You'll find out soon enough, Lily," Ginny assured her. "How much longer?" Lily asked excitedly. "There's still 9 months." "That's forever!" "She's going to be a nightmare this summer," James whispered to Albus. "Morning, everyone!" Harry descended the steps into the kitchen and pulled up a chair. "Hi, Dad," Albus greeted him. "Hey, Ginny?" Harry asked as he grabbed the Prophet, "Have you seen the Marauder's Map?" James choked on his juice and sprayed it across the table at Albus, as he turned bright red. "Ew, watch it!" Albus jumped back. "You ok, James?" Harry looked at him curiously. "Fine. The article on the front of the paper, it's, er, shocking," James blushed some more and pointed to the front of the Prophet, which was facing him. "Witch Tries to Decrease Size of Her Ears, Charms Them Off Instead?" Harry read. "Yes, very shocking. People ought to be more careful!" James sputtered. He gave Albus a look that Albus interpreted to mean 'meet me upstairs'. James excused himself and ran out of the room. "What's with him?" Harry asked. "No idea," Ginny shrugged. "Er, I've got to go change," Albus jumped up and followed James. Harry had noticed that the map was gone! Now he was going to have to give it back. Albus was going to miss it, but it would only be a matter of time before he had the other one working. "Albus!" James pulled him into the drawing room and shut the door. "He wants the map back!" "I kind of figured that," Albus smirked, "We're just going to have to sneak it back into his room. Let's do it now." "Wait, Albus!" James grabbed his arm, "The thing is, er, well, I..." He shuffled from foot to foot looking very nervous. "What?" "I, er, can't find it!" James whispered. "What am I going to do? I can't have lost it...." Albus started laughing. "It's not funny!" James insisted. "You didn't lose it!" Albus grinned, "I've got it. I took it from you months ago and didn't want to give it back." "You idiot!" James shouted, "Here I thought I'd lost it and you stole it from me!" "It doesn't matter now. We've got to give it back anyway." "You're giving it back. You're the one who stole it from me." "Well you stole it from Dad in the first place," Albus reminded him. "Only to get you out of trouble!" He had a point there. If Albus hadn't have been in Kendrick's office the previous year, James never would have taken the map in the first place. "All right. I'll just go sneak it into his room. Maybe he'll think he just forgot to bring it to Hogwarts." "Let's hope so. Go do it now." Albus nodded and ran up to his bedroom. He knew his dad would want the map back eventually, he just hadn't given it much thought. At least he hadn't noticed it was missing at school. Albus threw open his trunk and rifled through his school stuff. He still hadn't unpacked everything or packed a bag for his stay at the Burrow. The map was inside the photo album Albus found over the summer, along with the new map. Hopefully they wouldn't need the Marauder's Map to decipher the new map. Albus pulled out the map and ran into his parents' room. He shoved the map under a pile of defensive magic books and quickly left the room. "Done?" James asked anxiously when Albus ran back into the drawing room. "Yup. I put it under a stack of books, with one corner sticking out." "Perfect. You might want to go change your shirt now." "Oh, right," Albus looked down at his juice splattered t-shirt, "Thanks for that, by the way." "No problem," James laughed, "Come to me for all your juice spraying needs." "I'll do that," Albus rolled his eyes as he left the room to change his shirt.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Monday 8 September 2008 12 40 09 pm    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Just thought I'd let everyone know that I've finally written canon characters into this story! The first one makes her appearance in Chapter 25, and just for fun, I'll let you know who it is. Madam Rosmerta, but I'm not telling you why she's in it! As always, comments, questions, and general reviews are appreciated! Chapter 10: For One of Your Kids The day I would have usually departed for school was quickly upon me. I had spent the past two weeks avoiding contact with my family by staying in my room or my Potions room. Neither of my parents seemed to care or even notice. They were both being highly secretive about something that I could only guess was researching schools for me to transfer to. Whatever it was, it seemed to take up all of Dad's time when he was home. The two of them would hole up in Dad's study for hours on end. I tried to listen in on what they were saying, but one of them must have put up a silencing charm since I couldn't hear a thing. I wandered down to the kitchen a few hours after I woke up and found Mum sitting at the table with the usual large mug of coffee and piece of parchment she didn't want me to see. This had become a habit of hers, although I'm sure the parchment was a different one each day. "Morning," I said as I grabbed my box of Lucky Charms. Mum jumped and then stared at me, raising one eyebrow. Probably due to the fact that I hadn't said good morning to her in a few weeks. "Hello, Amy." "So," I began as I poured my cereal, "Know what today is?" Mum sighed, "January 25th? Two days before the full moon?" "Anything else happening today?" I inquired. Mum set down her parchment. "Not that I can think of. Just tell me what it is. I'm not in the mood to play guessing games." "I can't believe you forgot," I huffed and sat down in front of her. "It's the day I should be returning to school!" "Oh, well, I see," Mum muttered. "Olivia's probably getting ready to leave for the train," I commented in between bites of cereal. "Sure wish I was going...." "Amy, you're not going to guilt me into changing my mind about this. Don't even bother trying." "I'm just letting you know everything I'm missing," I smiled sweetly. "That actually does remind me, though. We'll have to get started with your homeschooling." I groaned inwardly. I really didn't feel like having Mum teach me. Sure, she'd do all right with some stuff like Charms and Transfiguration, but what about Potions? Mum was dreadful at Potions. I'd be better off just learning by myself. "Have you been doing your homework that your teachers assigned last month?" I stared at her. "Are you mad? I'm not going back, why would I bother with the homework?" "Well, that's a good place to start then. Complete the homework and then bring it to me. We'll see where to go from there." "But-" "No buts. Your professors know more about this than I do. You'll learn a great deal just by doing the homework they assigned. Then we'll start with the homeschooling. I won't be doing much, basically just keeping your skills up until the fall when you'll enter school again." "That's not fair, though," I whined, "I don't want to just practice what I've already done. Why bother? I'm not going to forget anything." "I will not have you not keeping up with your studies for six months," Mum said. "It's your fault," I huffed, "I should be going back to school today." "I'm not discussing that right now, Amy," Mum said sternly. "I want you to start your homework after you're done eating. We're going over to Richard and Cinda's after lunch. Your father and I have to tell them about our new plans, especially since you'll be going over there in two days." "But Dad's at work," I pointed out. "He's going to sneak out for a couple hours." "Whatever," I muttered. This was just wonderful, I thought. Now I'll be spending every full moon for who knows how long at my grandparents' house. At least I'd get to see Kenzie, but I had no idea what I'd tell her when she asked me why I wasn't in school. I finished my soggy cereal while Mum continued reading her piece of parchment. I dumped my empty bowl in the sink and went back up to my room. I opened my trunk and pulled out my Astronomy book. I knew better than to not start my homework. Mum would be riding me about this for weeks, so I'd better actually do it. Of course, I'd save the worst for last, like the two rolls of parchment Transfiguration essay. I sat down on my bed and gazed out the window, my book laying unopened in front of me. It was a sunny day, the kind that was perfect for wandering through the forest. Well, I could read my book while I wandered through the forest, I thought. It certainly didn't look like I'd get much reading done in my room. Mum was still in the kitchen as I walked past it. She looked up when she saw me. "Don't go gallivanting through that forest today," she warned. "There's not enough time before we leave." Yeah, right. We weren't going to leave for a few hours. But I knew she would watch me as I went outside to make sure I didn't go into the forest. I nodded but didn't say anything and opened the door to the deck. I decided to just lay on the wall next to the forest and read there. I ran over to the wall and tossed my book up onto it. "Amy!" a voice shouted from behind me. I turned around and saw that it was Mum sticking her head out the window. "Don't go into the forest!" "I'm not! I'm just sitting on the wall!" Mum shook her head, but walked away from the window. I climbed the wall and settled down to read my book. Astronomy has always been one of my favorite subjects and I was soon fully immersed in the chapter I was reading. Astronomy and Potions text books are the only ones I can read without being extremely bored. Transfiguration and History of Magic are the worst. They'd put me to sleep in less than five minutes. Charms, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts aren't that bad, but I'm not very good at DADA. I also take Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. I wish I had taken Arithmancy instead of Ancient Runes, though. Olivia says it's fascinating and I can't stand Ancient Runes. Care of Magical Creatures isn't that bad, but I'm not very interested in it. Dad wanted me to take that one, since it's pretty much what he built his whole career on. I was almost done with the chapter I was on when I heard footsteps approaching. Probably Mum telling me lunch was ready or something. Why she actually bothered to come outside and not just yell out the window, I had no idea. Maybe Matt was asleep or something. "Amy?" a quiet voice asked. I jumped and my book fell off the wall as I heard the voice. It wasn't Mum, it was Matt. "What?" I asked in an annoyed tone. "Um, sorry for scaring you." "You didn't scare me. I just thought you were Mum." "Oh," he bent down and picked up my book. I took it and looked at him, "Well, what do you want?" "Will you play with me? Mum won't let me go swimming." Probably because she's too busy inside, doing whatever it was that she had been preoccupied with lately. "I'm doing homework, so no." Matt sighed, "Can I sit up there with you, then?" "Are you mad?" I stared at him, "Mum would kill me. You're not supposed to be up here. Hell, I'm not supposed to be up here." "Why are you, then?" "Because I really don't care what Mum thinks," I say as I sat up and dangled my legs over the edge of the wall. "I don't either," Matt grabbed the wall with his hands and started trying to climb the it. "Hey, stop!" I shouted, "She's not even going to yell at you if you get up here. She'll yell at me." "No she won't. She's busy." He wedged his feet onto the wall and got about a foot off the ground. "I'm serious, Matt. Stop. Get off the wall," I seethed. "No. It's not fair. You come up here all the time." "And I get yelled at for it. Plus, life's not fair," I said bitterly and crossed my arms. My life was just about as unfair as it got right now. "I know that," Matt snapped, "Otherwise I'd get to go to your school." He continued trying to climb up the wall. "Otherwise I'd get to go to my school!" I groaned, "Now get off the wall!" "No!" he shouted. I sighed. He always got so stubborn around the full moon. Any other time of the month and he probably would have listened to me. I glanced up to the house, hoping that Mum wasn't anywhere near the window. I couldn't see her, but she might walk by a window soon. Then I'd be in for it. Matt was already halfway up the wall now. "Get down, now," I glared at him. "NO!" he shouted. He reached up for the top of the wall, but his hand slipped. "Amy!" he said in a panicked tone. "Help!" "This why you shouldn't have done this!" I yelled. I laid back down and tried to grab his hand, but his foot had already slipped and he landed on the ground, flat on his back. "Ow!" he screeched and started crying loudly. I jumped off the wall, my heart beating fast. I was in trouble now. I hoped he hadn't gotten hurt badly. "What hurts?" I asked as I bent down. "My back," he cried. I looked back to the house, but Mum wasn't anywhere in sight. That was strange. She usually had a sixth sense about these kinds of things and was by Matt's side within seconds of him getting hurt. "C'mon, let's go inside," I picked him up and he started crying even more. I ran as fast as I could to the house. I laid him down gently on the couch in the living room and then tried to find Mum. "Mum!" I shouted into the kitchen. She wasn't there. I wandered into the hall. "MUM!" I shouted even louder. The door to Dad's study burst open and Mum appeared in the doorway with her wand. "What's wrong?" she asked anxiously. "Um," I said nervously, "Matt got hurt outside. He's in the living room now." Mum pushed past me and ran into the living room. "What happened?" she asked on the way. "He tried to climb the wall," I said quietly. Mum turned around and looked at me. "Really? Did you tell him to?" "No! I swear I didn't! I tried to stop him but he wouldn't. And then when he was halfway up he fell off it." "Amy..." Mum groaned and went into the living room. I followed her over to where my brother was laying. She gently pulled him up and comforted him. She asked him what was wrong and looked at his back once he told her. I snuck a quick glance at it when she was looking and saw that he had a huge cut that was already bruising. Mum wordlessly left the room and returned a minute later with two potions. She gave Matt one of them to drink and cleaned the cut with the other. Then she tapped it with her wand and the blood disappeared. Mum is pretty good with healing spells, but she can't heal cuts all the way. Matt's back was still bruised and the cut was still noticeable. "Amy, you know I don't want you on that wall," Mum said as she held my brother in her lap. "What? Just because of him?" "Yes, because he likes to copy you." "That's not fair! Every part of my life revolves around him!" I shout and run from the room. I spent the remainder of the morning in my room, reading more of my Astronomy book. The last thing I really feel like doing is going over to Richard and Cinda's house, but I'm sure my parents wouldn't let me stay home. I glanced at the clock. It was almost noon. Olivia was still on the train to get to school. The train always left at ten o'clock sharp. I almost missed it my first year because Mum was busy taking pictures of me at home and lost track of time. I wondered who Olivia was sitting with. The two of us sat together on the train in our second and third years and nobody else sat in our compartment. She's probably sitting with the other girls in our year. Or maybe not, since neither of us really like those girls. I'll probably never see them again. "Amy! Come down for lunch!" I heard Mum shout. My stomach was growling so I decided to go down and eat lunch even though I didn't want to be in the company of my family. Mum made sandwiches and sliced up apples. I sat down in my usual chair and start to eat without saying anything. Mum was only picking at her food and she looked anxious. Matt seemed to have gotten over his fall from the wall and was eating all his food. M