Harry Potter Magic Wands and Collectible Replica Wand

Visit our friendly Harry Potter Forum to discuss the world of Harry Potter and his magic, like these recent posts:

Author	Message
choki Joined: 1 May 2003 Posts: 3150 Location: In the Land of chicken worshippers, trying to open a fried chicken fastfood chain	Posted: Monday 10 November 2008 06 07 41 am    Post subject: Re: RPG: The Six Wizards in topic:RPG: The Six Wizards "Now what? They started the game!" Buta called out to Damien who was still sitting calmly, drinking his beer, while the muggles ran amok. "It's not our game yet, Buta..." Damien replied composedly, as he threw a look at the frantic crowd. Buta followed his gaze and knew what Damien had meant. Amongst the crowd, stood a foreign wizard with his wand outstretched.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Sunday 9 November 2008 08 49 19 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks, Obladi! Chapter 34: The Marauders' Den Albus let out a gasp as his eyes fell upon the room in front of him. He stepped inside, gazing around in awe, and his friends followed in behind him. Albus heard someone shut the door as they stepped in. The room was circular, just like the Gryffindor common room. The decor was similar, too, as most everything was scarlet and gold. It kind of reminded Albus of the Room of Requirement whenever Matt asked for it, only better. There was scarlet shag carpeting on the floor and scarlet curtains on the windows. Although the room was mostly circular, there were four smaller square rooms leading off of the main room. Albus walked deeper into the room and saw that there was a four-poster bed in each of them, along with a bedside table. Each of the little rooms had a sign on it that depicted which one belonged to which Marauder. In the main part of the room were a few couches, chairs, and tables. A few bookcases were up against the walls and housed books, parchments, old dung bombs, and various other detritus. There was even a pile of opened sweets sitting on one of the tables, giving the room the feel that the Marauders had just stepped out for class or something. At the same time, the place looked like nobody had been in it for decades. There was a thick layer of dust coating every surface and there was a faint smell of dankness in the air. That may have been because there was a cauldron full of a foul smelling potion sitting next to the window. The tables were covered in various pieces of parchment, open books, and yellowing copies of the [i]Prophet[/i]. The Marauders had even decorated the walls. There were pictures of themselves that seemed to range from first year all the way to seventh. Posters of a few different Quidditch teams were also fixed upon the stone walls. A large banner was above the window, directly across from the door. It read, 'The Marauders' Den.' "Blimey," Albus whispered, "This is kind of strange." "Yeah," Matt agreed, "But brilliant at the same time." "It almost looks as if they were expecting to come back here," Rose commented as she sifted through a pile of parchment, "Looks like they left some homework here." "Excellent," John grinned, "Maybe some of the teachers have been assigning the same homework every year and we can copy it. I'll bet Binns uses the same assignments year after year." "I think we'll have to clean this place up a bit," Amanda commented as she peered into the cauldron, "That potion is positively disgusting." "Wonder if these are still good," Kaden said as he picked up a few chocolate frogs. "I wouldn't eat those, Kaden," Rose grimaced, "They're decades old." "This place is amazing," Albus said as he walked towards the window. He gazed out of it and saw that it looked out on the lake. "It's like our own common room. And dormitory," John said as he walked over to the alcove labeled 'Padfoot'. "Guess this one's mine!" John flopped onto the bed and a cloud of dust flew out of it. "Oh, gross!" he coughed, "Wonder if we can get the house elves to clean this place." "They've got enough to clean," Rose replied, "We'll just clean it ourselves. It won't be that bad. I know a few cleaning spells." Albus wandered over to the alcove that was labeled 'Prongs' and walked into it. It was very strange, knowing that the place had belonged to his grandfather. Albus almost felt like he had gone back in time, to when his grandfather had been at Hogwarts. He glanced up at the walls and noticed a picture of a Quidditch team that was labeled 'Puddlemere United- 1975'. The whole room had pretty much frozen in time. The rest of Hogwarts changed as the years passed and new students came to the school. But this room, this room hadn't changed. It was just the same now as it had been in the 1970s. Now, it would skip an entire generation and be propelled into the twenty-first century. "Blimey, look at this," John announced. Albus stuck his head out into the main part of the room and saw that John had picked up a newspaper clipping. Albus and everyone else went over to John and crowded around him to read the article. [i]ENTIRE MUGGLE FAMILY MURDERED- SUSPECTED WORK OF YOU-KNOW-WHO An entire Muggle family was murdered last night at their home in the outskirts of London. Muggle police officers have attributed the death to carbon monoxide poisoning, but wizard investigators have discovered the cause of death was Avada Kedavra. Nearby Muggles reported seeing a 'strange cloud' above the house early the next morning. Before Obliviators modified their memories, they all said the cloud was the shape of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. This odd cloud of smoke has appeared over the dwellings of multiple murders during the past year. Rumors are that this is the mark of You-Know-Who, but it has yet to be confirmed. Employees of Magical Law Enforcement are currently investigating the murder and the strange cloud above the house. Anyone with information about the murder, the cloud, You-Know-Who, or his supposed 'Death Eater' followers should contact Magical Law Enforcement as soon as possible.[/i] "That is strange, to be reading that article now," Albus said quietly. From the sound of it, Voldemort was just starting to gain power when that article was written. "I'll say," John agreed, "I'll bet there's all kinds of articles around this place about Voldemort." "You're probably right," Albus said, "My dad said that when the Marauders were in their last year of school, they were already working to fight Voldemort." "This is so weird," Matt commented. "Yeah," Albus agreed. "We should probably clean this place up a bit," Rose announced. "But let's not throw away any of the old articles or anything," Albus said, "They might be interesting to read." "Or the old homework," John added. "Might be useful," he muttered after Rose sent him a withering glare. Rose spent a few minutes teaching everyone else the few cleaning spells she knew. Then they all got started on cleaning up the room. Albus found quite a few copies of the [i]Prophet[/i] and he set them aside in a box. They left most of the pictures and posters up on the wall. It seemed wrong to take down all the pictures of the Marauders' when they were the ones who founded the room. Albus left the old picture of Puddlemere Untied up as well, since he supported that Quidditch team. To John's delight, there was a similar picture in Padfoot's section of the room. Albus was pretty sure Matt would be adding a picture of the Chudley Cannons to his alcove, since apparently Moony didn't support them based on the lack of a picture of them near his bed. After a couple hours, the room looked new once again. All the dust, old sweets, and rubbish was gone. The cauldron had been emptied and was now sparkling. Amanda, who had somehow stumbled upon the laundry room a few months ago, had gone down and fetched a few new sets of bedding for the beds. Once they were done cleaning, they began to make themselves at home in the Marauders' Den, as it was apparently called. Rose began to peruse the various books that were on the shelves. Kaden was rifling through the assorted pranking items that had been left behind. Amanda was looking at a pile of photographs they had found. Albus, John, and Matt were looking at all the newspapers and clippings that had been left behind. "This is going to be an excellent place to study," Rose said as she sat down on one of the couches with a book. "It'll be quiet." "Can't guarantee that," John grinned. "I never really knew that Voldemort attacked this many people," Albus muttered as he leafed through a paper, "I mean, I knew he killed loads of people, but there's two or three articles about him in each paper." "I don't think I would have wanted to live back then," Matt commented, "Seems like it would have been bloody miserable." "Same with when my dad was a kid," Albus added. He was lucky, really, that he lived in a time when the country wasn't being ravaged by a murderous madman. I mean, Washburn and the Willinsons paled in comparison to Voldemort. "Nothing like learning about history to make you grateful of the time you live in," Rose commented. "Why can't Binns just have us read old articles in class?" John sighed, "It's actually interesting reading about the war like this." "We haven't even gotten to the war in History of Magic yet," Rose pointed out. "Yeah, well, it's more interesting than what we've been learning about." "That's because you feel it more directly relates to your life. But we have to learn about all the history, if we want to avoid the mistakes of the past." "But Binns could at least make it more interesting," John muttered. "I'll give you that one." "Do you guys think we should tell anyone about this place?" Albus asked as he set down the article he had been looking at. John and Matt both turned to stare at him. "What? Are you mad?" John asked. "No," Albus sighed, "I just meant, should we tell my dad about it. And Teddy." As soon as Albus had seen the room, he thought both his dad and Teddy would love to know about it and to see it. Both of their fathers had been involved in the creation of it, after all. "I dunno," Matt shrugged, "I can sort of see your point, though." "I still think we should keep it a secret," John said. "I kind of agree with Albus," Rose said, "This place would be really sentimental for both Uncle Harry and Teddy. And I suppose James and Lily would like to know about it, too." "I never said we should tell James and Lily," Albus hastened to say. "They'll both be here next year, which means they'll want to be in here all the time. Teddy and my dad would be different. They'd see it, know about it, and maybe visit every once in a while. But they wouldn't want to be here all the time." "They couldn't get in, though, Albus," Rose pointed out, "Only the four of you can open this place." "I know, but I still don't want James and Lily to know about it while they're at school," Albus said defensively. "Plus, James would never keep it a secret. He'd tell Ben and Cedric and Nathan." "Not if we use that charm," Kaden suggested, "Not that I think we should tell James and Lily." "James would never agree to that charm," Albus said. "I still think that if we're going to tell Uncle Harry and Teddy, we should tell James and Lily," Rose said. "I don't," Albus crossed his arms, "And it's not up to you. It's up to the four of us." "Fine," Rose huffed. "So," Albus turned to John and Matt, "What do the two of you think about telling my dad and Teddy?" "I think we probably should," Matt said. "I don't know..." John said, "I kind of like the secret. Can we at least keep it to ourselves for a while? Let's think about it over the summer and then maybe tell them next year." Albus shrugged. His conscience was telling him that he should tell his dad and Teddy about it. He knew that knowing about the room and the new map would mean the world to both of them, but at the same time he kind of wanted to have the room to himself for a few months as well. "That sounds like a good idea," Albus agreed. "So we'll think about telling them next year." ****** Albus and his friends immediately started spending their free time in the Marauders' Den as opposed to the Room of Requirement. Albus found that he felt very at home there. It provided a sense of calm, a place to go to get away from the chaos of the main part of the school. He was even able to concentrate more on his studying there than in the Room of Requirement, although that may have been due to the fact that they had solved the mystery of the map and Albus wasn't nearly as distracted as he had been. The final dueling tournament took place on the following Sunday, a few days before the full moon. Albus's team had not made it to the finals, despite Albus and Malfoy's excellent dueling skills. Both boys had won every single duel they had been in the entire year. However, the rest of the team wasn't nearly as skilled and they did not have enough points for the finals. Rose's team was in second place and therefore was in the finals. They were up against a team that none of Albus's friends were on. Albus could feel the excitement in the air as he walked to the dueling room after lunch. Even those who were not competing were going to the room in order to watch the final duel. The two competing teams sat with each other at the front of the room, but none of the other teams sat together. Albus didn't think that Kendrick's idea of inter-house unity had worked very well with the dueling teams. The tournament lasted about an hour, which was much shorter than all the previous ones. Rose won one of her duels, against a third year Slytherin. "That concludes the final dueling tournament!" Kendrick announced after the last two students had dueled. "I shall now calculate the points." Kendrick pointed his wand at a sign that had all the team names and number of points on it. The top two teams' numbers flashed and then changed to the new numbers. "Congratulations to Team Three, the Hungry Hungry Horntails! They are the new champions!" Kendrick shouted, "Will the team members please come forward to accept the trophy." "Merlin," Albus muttered and clapped politely. Rose's team had not won. "Second place is still good, though," Amanda said. After the Hungry Hungry Horntails had accepted their trophy, Kendrick returned to his podium. "Yes, the Hungry Hungry Horntails have proved themselves to be most excellent duelers," Kendrick smiled, "As well as an aptitude for creative names. "I would like to thank all of you for putting up with the inter-house teams this year. I know many of you were very opposed to this at the beginning of the year." "Many of us?" John muttered, "I think pretty much all of us. Except Rose, that is." "I sincerely hope that you have all learned that despite our differences, we can be united. I think the inter-house teams proved successful and I hope you agree. I will be having a discussion with Professor Longbottom and Professor Potter about whether we will have inter-house teams next year. "With that, I wish you all good luck with your exams. You'd better all go study for a while, as I have been hearing that some of your teachers have created particularly tough exams." "He's just trying to scare us into studying," John said as they made their way out of the room. Albus agreed, but he wasn't taking any chances. Albus was feeling very confident about his exams, though. With Washburn gone, Albus felt he would do well on all of them. Albus and his friends quickly found Rose and congratulated her. Rose was very happy with a second place win. She didn't think her team would even get second place. Rose wasn't really a competitive person, with the exception of Wizard's Chess, so she didn't dwell on the thought of losing to the Hungry Hungry Horntails. ****** Over the next few weeks, Albus and his friends spent most of their free time in the Marauders' Den. They mostly goofed off, but did manage to get some studying done. Rose all but physically forced them to start studying by the time the last week in May arrived. Albus, Matt, John, and Kaden hadn't spent the night in the room yet, despite the fact that it was obviously set up for that. Albus wasn't sure what Bilius and Ethan would do if they never turned up at the dormitory one night, so they hadn't bothered. Although, Matt did spend the afternoon there sleeping the day of the May full moon, and he reported that the beds were just as comfortable as Gryffindor's beds and more comfortable than the Hospital Wing's beds. Ever since he and his friends managed to figure out the rest of the map, Albus felt like the school year was definitely winding down. It was almost like figuring out the map signified the end of term. Albus imagined that if they hadn't figured it out, he wouldn't have wanted to go home for the summer. The signs of the end of the year were very much apparent. The fifth and seventh years were spending all available time in the library studying for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. The seventh year Gryffindor prefects had taken over Victoire's habit of demanding silence in the common room in the evenings, making Albus very happy that they had the Marauders' Den. On the other side of the spectrum were the students who just didn't want to do anything. Albus's cousin Stanley was the perfect example. Stanley had never been studious, but now that he would be graduating in only a couple weeks, he had no motivation whatsoever. However, his Ravenclaw girlfriend did force him to sit down and study for his N.E.W.T.s every evening. John shared Stanley's mindset. Even though John was no where near graduation, he also had no motivation to study. "I just don't see the point, Rose," John said as he tossed a chocolate frog up into the air, "If I haven't learned it by now, I'm not going to learn it in time for exams." "Might I remind you that you said 'I don't need to study it now. I'll just forget it by the end of term anyway. I'll just wait until May to learn it' a few months ago?" Rose sighed and shook her head. "Exactly," John caught the frog and shoved it in his mouth, "No point in studying ever." "Do you think anyone else knows about this place?" Albus wondered aloud as he looked up from his Astronomy book. "I hope no one else knows about it," John replied, "Otherwise it wouldn't be our secret anymore." "I don't mean other students," Albus said, "I mean, do you think the Marauders brought other people in here when they were in school. And those people would obviously still know about it." "I'm sure your dad's mum knew about it," Rose commented, "Don't know about anyone else." "I wonder why Sirius and Remus never told Dad about it," Albus mentioned. Rose shrugged, "Maybe they would have wanted Uncle Harry to find it on his own, if he was ever going to find it. I mean, it's not like our parents told us everything about Hogwarts either." "Guess that makes sense." "You know what doesn't make sense?" Kaden asked loudly. "What?" Albus asked. "Transfiguration," Kaden muttered, "I'm going to fail the exam. Why can't it be easy like Potions?" "I think you're the only one here who finds Potions easy, Kaden," Matt commented. "And are you good at Transfiguration?" Kaden asked. "Not really," Matt laughed, "The only thing I'm really good at is Astronomy." "I'd be willing to bet that you'll be good at Care of Magical Creatures," John smirked. "Shut up," Matt shook his head and threw a chocolate frog at John. "Hey, thanks!" John grinned and stuffed the frog in his mouth. "Found that one underneath that nasty old cauldron," Matt burst out laughing. "Ew! Gross!" John jumped up and spat the frog out onto the floor. "I'll get you for that one." "That is disgusting, John," Amanda screwed up her face and glanced at the floor. "Yeah, clean it up," Rose agreed. "It's his fault," John pointed at Matt. "Is not," Matt grinned. "You ate it." "You've known me for two years. You should realize that I'll eat anything your throw at me." "Anything?" Matt raised his eyebrow and grinned mischievously. "Anything that resembles food!" "There's charms to make stuff resemble food," Matt commented. "I'm not eating anything you give me anymore," John replied. "We'll see how long that lasts." "Will you both shut it and do your homework?" Rose shouted, "You're giving me a headache." "You could always go to the common room," John pointed out, "I hear that the prefects have made it a mandatory quiet zone until exams are over." "Just wait until I'm a prefect," Rose muttered, "It'll be quiet all year." "No it won't, cause I'll be a prefect with you," John grinned. "Yeah, right," Rose laughed, "Albus is going to be a prefect." Albus looked up from his reading. "Er, I'm not sure I want to be a prefect." "Then Matt can be a prefect," Rose said, "If he is, then you'll be even more like the Marauders." "Teddy's dad was a prefect?" Matt asked. "Yeah," Rose answered, "I'd bet on either you or Albus for prefect. Or perhaps Bilius or Ethan." "What about me?" John put on a look of fake sadness, "That hurts, Rose, it does." "You?" Rose smirked, "The boy who never does his homework?" "I'll do it, I'll do it," John muttered and picked up his quill. Albus laughed to himself and continued his Astronomy homework. He hadn't really thought about who was going to be a prefect. Albus wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be a prefect, even if Kendrick picked him. Prefects had an awful lot of responsibility. Responsibility that Albus wasn't sure he wanted. But prefect decisions were still over two years away. Albus pushed the thought of prefects out of his head and concentrated on his studying.
FawkesthePhoenix Joined: 31 December 2006 Posts: 3050 Location: Dancing circles around Voldemort, singing poetry into a hairbrush and dodging curses.	Posted: Sunday 9 November 2008 08 44 30 am    Post subject: Re: RPG: The Six Wizards in topic:RPG: The Six Wizards Yuta felt the building began to shake, felt the adrenaline pulsing through her veins as she jumped at Inu and they both went crashing through the bar's skylight. Her fingers seemed to grow claws, her teeth to sharpen into those of a fierce predator, and she knocked Inu's wand away. She pocketed her own, and began to physically fight Inu, with tooth and claw and hard kicks, she relished every satisfiying squelch of blood as it poured from a wound, whether it be her's or anyone else's.
Distortia Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 527 Location: Over the sea	Posted: Saturday 8 November 2008 04 20 17 am    Post subject: Re: RPG: The Six Wizards in topic:RPG: The Six Wizards Inu almost gagged from the stench of muggles wafting out the window. "Come on now, Yuta!" he spat, wiping the bile from his mouth. He had nearly thrown up, he was that disgusted. He really wanted to extinguish the whole disgusting establishment. He made his way to the ladder and climbed up to the top floor, where he pulled himself onto the roof top. Yuta was there, crouching and balancing like a cat at midnight. Inu placed his own feet on the ridge of the roof. He stood up, his hands in the air in an almost, 'you've got me' expression. She looked positively deadly, and for a moment, Inu was excited by it because he felt anxious; almost afraid. He never ever really felt afraid, because he couldn't die the way muggles and wizards can die. He was an animal, a werewolf, and there were special things about him that made him safe when he got injured. Still.... he turned his head and observed her closely. Then he turned his head the other way, making a cracking sound. "Alright then, let's warm up shall we? I haven't had the pleasure, feeling you in action." He pulled out his wand slowly, showing it to Yuta, and then he yelled a curse and pointed the wand directly at her.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Wednesday 5 November 2008 05 12 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! Chapter 33: May 2, 2018 Much to Albus's dismay, there wasn't a convenient time to continue following the clues of the map the entire weekend. Quidditch practice took the entire afternoon, because Georgia was beginning her ruthless pre-Quidditch final practices. There was only one match left before the final, and it would determine who would play Gryffindor in the last match. Georgia stressed the need for extra practices and encouraged everyone to practice by themselves whenever they had a free moment. She had somehow seen a glimpse of Albus, John, and Matt flying around the pitch looking for clues and thought Albus had been practicing. Albus had to hide his smirk as she praised him in front of the entire team. Professor Kendrick canceled all afternoon classes on Wednesday of that week. Since Albus never had classes on Wednesday afternoons, it was no different than usual. The reason for the cancellation was that this particular Wednesday was May 2nd, the twentieth anniversary of the Final Battle at Hogwarts, which lead to Voldemort's downfall. Fifteen years prior to the twentieth anniversary, five years after the actual battle took place, a memorial had been erected on the Hogwarts grounds, in the precise place where Professor Longbottom had beheaded Voldemort's snake, Nagini. The statue was made of marble and depicted a phoenix spreading its wings atop a large square pedestal. The names of every person who had given their lives during both wars against Voldemort were etched into the pedestal. Professor Kendrick, along with the Minister, had organized a memorial service that was to take place near the monument. It was to take place at one o'clock in the afternoon and witches and wizards from all over Britain came to attend. The chairs that had been set up earlier in the day were already filling up when Albus and his friends walked towards them. John's parents had already found seats and he went to sit with them. "Albus! Matt!" a voice called out over the crowd. Albus gazed around and his eyes fell upon Victoire, Amy, and Teddy, who were sitting in the second row. "Hey, Victoire," Albus greeted her once they had walked over, "Happy Birthday." "Thanks," Victoire sighed, "You know, it kind of sucks to have my birthday today. Everyone's so depressed." "Not everyone," Albus said, "I mean, it is the day Voldemort was defeated." "Yeah, but so many people died," Victoire pointed out. "Are you parents coming, Matt?" Albus asked. "Dunno," Matt shrugged, "They didn't even live here when Voldemort was around, so I've no idea." "I think they are," Amy said. The rest of the Weasleys and the Potters soon filed into the rows near Albus and his friends. His entire family took up quite a bit of space. Albus's parents wound up sitting in the front row, along with Lily, Rose's parents, Hugo, his grandparents, and a few of his other aunts, uncles, and younger cousins. Matt and Amy's parents did come and the four of them sat together in the second row. Albus sat next to Teddy and Rose, with Kaden and Amanda on the other side of Rose. The rows of chairs were soon all filled up, and some people were even standing or had conjured their own chairs that didn't quite match the others. Professor Kendrick stepped up to the podium that had been placed next to the monument. The crowd quieted down quickly once he got up there. "Welcome," Kendrick said somberly, "And thank you all for coming. I welcome you to Hogwarts. "May 2nd, 1998. A day that was both joyful and full of sorrow at the same time. It may seem odd to some that May 2nd is a day we celebrate, when they are mourning the loss of loved ones. We celebrate with feasts, and parties, and days off of work or school; but for so many, today is a day when we remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. "That is why so many died. They died for us. So that we may live happy and peaceful lives with each other. In our sadness, we must remember that our loved ones knowingly gave their lives for us. There are many of us here today who fought that battle and survived. And I am sure that all of them were prepared to die for the cause. "I still remember that battle. I was a few years out of Hogwarts. Well, more than a few, but I was still young. I had not settled down. I did not even have a regular job. I was not fully active in the anti-Voldemort movement, but when I got word of the battle, I was there. "But we must not only focus on the actual battle. I have decided to speak today about the aftermath. About what happened after Voldemort was defeated, after we were free from his oppression. What happened after the battle is what made me decide to settle down and begin teaching. "I admired the way everyone came together. The way we leaned on each other amongst the grief and happiness. The way Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped up to the plate and organized the Ministry. The way Minerva McGonagall stepped up and organized the rebuilding of Hogwarts. "We were unified at that moment. Unified by our grief and our happiness. It is this unity that makes us strong, made us able to defeat Voldemort, and makes us able to continue to fight the evil in our lives. We must remember to keep ourselves unified, today, tomorrow, and forever. "As we remember those who gave their lives twenty years ago, we must also remember that they would not want us to dwell on the past. We should always remember the past, so as not to make the same mistakes, but we shouldn't dwell on it. We should live our lives to the fullest, for that is what they would want us to do." Albus clapped along with everybody else. Kendrick's speech had been short, but meaningful. Albus noticed that Teddy's eyes were tearing up, and Victoire had put her arm around him. The Minister gave a speech next. His speech was longer and drawn out. Albus found his attention waning as the man droned on and on. Once he was finally done, Kingsley and McGonagall each gave short speeches. "And now," Kendrick announced, "We shall hear from Harry Potter." Albus jerked his head up and watched as his dad slowly got up to the podium. He had no idea his dad was making a speech. The crowd was clapping as Harry got up to the podium. "Thank you all for coming," Harry began quietly, "Um, well, anyone who knows me really well knows I don't really enjoy making big speeches like this. I'm sure my students can attest to this, given how few actual lectures I give in class. When it comes to teaching, I'd rather take a practical approach. But, when Fabius asked me to speak today, I couldn't turn him down. "So, I'm going to keep this short. I suppose I'll begin at the beginning. My parents gave their lives to protect me, and to protect all of us. They died in order to help defeat Voldemort. "Of course, I had to go live with my aunt and uncle after this and grew up without a single bit of knowledge of the wizarding world. If you had told me when I was nine that I would grow up to defeat the most evil wizard of all time, I would have laughed. "But to say that I defeated Voldemort would be an overstatement. I could never have done it without help from those who died and those who are here today. Without Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Tonks Lupin, I would never have survived. Where would I have been without Hermione and Ron Weasley, or any of the Weasleys, really? I couldn't have done it. It would be inaccurate to say that I defeated Voldemort twenty years ago. What should be said is that we defeated Voldemort twenty years ago. "With that, I would like to repeat what Fabius said. We must always remember those who lost their lives, but we shouldn't dwell on the past. We should live in the moment, and think about the future. Because we don't know what the future holds. We make our own future and we should make the most of it. That is what those who gave their lives would want us to do." Harry left the podium and sat back down amongst loud applause. Albus thought his dad's speech was very good, despite him not wanting to make it in the first place. Kendrick stood up once again. "I would like to thank you all for coming today. Feel free to explore the castle and grounds. You are welcome to join us for dinner as well. We will be serving it outside, as the Great Hall is not nearly great enough to house you all." People slowly began to get up from their chairs and most of them migrated towards the memorial. Albus's parents did this as well, but Albus didn't really want to join the big throngs of people. He followed Teddy out of the aisle and stood off to the side with Matt, Rose, Kaden, and Amy while Teddy and Victoire went over to the memorial. The two of them joined Teddy's grandmother and Teddy put his arm around her as they walked to the memorial. Albus saw John with his family. John's aunts, uncles, and cousins must have come as well, because there were a whole lot of little kids with them. The whole group headed back towards the castle and Albus figured that John and Isabelle were showing their family the school. As far as Albus knew, John's parents weren't really involved with the battle because they were too young to fight when it happened. Once Teddy and Victoire rejoined the group, they started to walk back towards the castle. Nobody really said much. Even Kaden seemed to know that it was a time for silence. Albus noticed that Teddy's face was streaked with tears. They walked through the castle, somehow all going to the Room of Requirement without anyone ever stating that as their destination. Matt paced in front of the empty wall and once the door appeared, everyone filed in. "That was a nice service," Rose commented once they had all sat down. Everyone nodded without saying anything. "So," Amy began a few minutes later, "How has the year been?" She turned to Kaden, "I don't believe I've ever met you. I'm Amy Eckerton." "Kaden Dursley," Kaden replied, "At your service." "Oh, you're Kaden," Amy said. "Nice to meet you." "You, too," Kaden said. Amy turned to her brother, "And how are," she glanced at Kaden, "Your you-know-whats?" "It's ok," Matt sighed, "He knows." "What?!" Amy shouted, "I thought he was the kid who got into the Whomping Willow?" "He is," Matt confirmed. "Then why would you tell him?" Amy asked, then turned to Kaden, "You know?" "Know what?" Kaden asked, "Oh, that Matt is a-" Albus broke out into a grin as he saw Kaden's mouth clamp shut. The charm was still working. "What's wrong with you?" Amy asked, "And how did you find out?" "Er-" Kaden stammered. "We charmed him not to tell anyone," Matt explained, "The Sileo Altus charm. Rose performed it. Kaden can't talk about it in front of you or Victoire or Teddy or anybody who isn't me, Albus, John, Rose, or Amanda." "You performed a Sileo Altus charm?" Amy asked Rose. "Yeah," Rose blushed, "It wasn't that difficult once I figured it out." "Wow," Amy let out a low whistle, "That's impressive." "I'll say," Victoire agreed, "You've definitely got your mother's brains." "Good to know the charm's working," Amy said. The mood in the room became increasingly livelier after that. Albus and his friends told Teddy, Victoire, and Amy all about what had been going on in school and what classes they were going to take the following year. Teddy, Victoire, and Amy talked about Auror and Healer training. Teddy shared that Auror training was very intense and he spent all his spare time sleeping since it was so draining. Once evening arrived, Albus and the rest of the group headed back outside for dinner. Somebody had conjured loads of long tables and chairs and had placed them throughout the grounds. Albus saw his family taking over a couple of tables near the lake and led his group over to them. Matt's parents were there as well, talking with Victoire's parents. Albus sat down at a table, across from his parents, with Rose and Matt on either side of him. "Hey, Al," Harry greeted him. "Hi, Dad," Albus grinned. Food soon appeared on the tables and everybody loaded up their plates. Albus ate in silence and listened to the conversations around him. He liked having his whole family at school together. It reminded him of Christmas at the Burrow. Lily and Hugo were talking animatedly about what they were going to do when they got to Hogwarts the following year. Hugo insisted he would be the next star of the Quidditch team and Lily was telling him that he couldn't try-out until second year. "But that's not fair," Hugo whined. "Nobody's leaving this year anyway," James pointed out, "Georgia's the oldest on the team and she'll be a seventh year next year." "Fine. I'll join then," Hugo huffed. "Unless of course you're not in Gryffindor," Lily smirked, "I could see you in Hufflepuff." "I'll be in Gryffindor!" Hugo shouted, "Like the rest of us." Georgia, Fred, and Heather were deep in discussion about strategy for the Quidditch final. The three of them had always been the most ruthless players on the team. Albus preferred not to get involved in the tactics and fine points of the team. He just liked to play. He could never see himself as captain. Albus reached over and grabbed a roll from the basket near his dad. Harry was deep in conversation with Ron, and Albus strained his ears to listen in. "It's kind of disconcerting that we haven't gotten any leads in a while," Harry whispered. "We were getting sightings a few times a month for a while. And now, nothing." "Do you think they're laying low?" Ron asked. "Not sure," Harry muttered, "I have a bad feeling about it. Almost like they're luring us into a false sense of security." "I was thinking that, too," Ron agreed, "But nobody's seen anything. I've got people patrolling Hogsmeade, but they're getting bored. People are saying we need to decrease security. They think it's blown over." "I don't like that," Harry said darkly, "I'm not decreasing security. Not until we've got them caught. I don't care how bored they get." "I agree," Ron said, "If word gets out that we've decreased security, they're likely to return to the school." "Exactly." "I think Al wants to know what we're talking about," Ron grinned, looking up at Albus. Albus quickly looked down at his plate and shoved a piece of roll in his mouth, blushing. "I think you're right," Harry laughed, "It's ok, Al. If we talk about work stuff at the table, it's our own fault if you overhear it." Albus nodded and swallowed the roll. "I wasn't, er, listening in, or anything...." "It's ok," Ron laughed, "We'd have done the same thing in your place." Albus nodded and continued eating. He had once again almost forgotten about Washburn and the Willinsons. Now they were fresh on his mind once again. What did it mean that nobody had sighed any of them in months? Albus hadn't even known that there had been frequent sightings before. The Prophet must not have published articles about all the sightings. Albus supposed if they became frequent enough, they would become old news. But where were Washburn and the Willinsons now? Albus doubted they had given up on finding the Hallows. He was more inclined to believe that they were trying to lull his dad into a false sense of security. Neither Harry or Ron mentioned anything further on the subject. Albus tried to forget about it, but he couldn't. The thought of Washburn or the Willinsons returning for the Hallows was too frightening, especially now that Albus himself had the Invisibility Cloak. ****** By the time the weekend arrived, Albus had nearly forgotten about the conversation he overheard about Washburn and the Willinsons. The reason for this was that there was finally time for Albus and his friends to locate the final clue for the map. "What was the clue again?" John asked as they entered the Room of Requirement. "'Go to the place where we learn to fight the dark, it is there that we've left our final mark,'" Albus recited. He had been thinking about the clue all week, trying to figure out what it meant. "How do you fight the dark?" Amanda asked. "Lumos?" John shrugged, "Where did we learn that?" "I learned it at home," Albus commented. "I don't think it literally means darkness," Rose sighed, "You lot take things way too literally. Think about it. Dark as in evil." "Oh!" Albus smacked his forehead. "The Defense classroom!" "Exactly," Rose grinned, "Let's go." The classroom was empty when they arrived. Albus quickly shut the door and stared out at the room. Where would the Marauders have put the mark? "We'd better spread out and start looking," Albus announced. Everyone agreed and began to search the classroom. Albus inspected all the desks, but found nothing. He sighed and walked over to the bookcase. It was taking a very long time to find this particular print. Longer than it had taken to find any of the others. They had been there for nearly a half hour. "Found it!" Matt shouted. Albus looked up from the bookcase and saw Matt crouching in one of the back corners of the room. Albus quickly ran to the back along with the rest of his friends. "It's right there," Matt pointed to the corner. "You're going to have to read us what it says," Albus told him. Matt nodded and touched the carving. It disappeared and a much longer string of words appeared than had appeared from the other marks. "'Congratulations,'" Matt read, "'You have successfully followed the clues. Either that or you somehow stumbled upon the last one before finding the others. In that case, we suggest you enter the lottery. "'Anyway, we shall now reveal the directions to find the secret room. We can't vouch for what kind of state it will be in when you arrive, since we're not sure what year it will be when you discover it. In which case, we suggest you learn some good cleaning spells, as Muggle cleaning is miserable.'" "'You'd know, wouldn't you, Padfoot?'" "'Shut up, Moony.'" "'Just get on with the directions.'" "'All right. You'll need to go to the north end of the sixth floor corridor. There should be an army of suits of armor on one side. Face them. Find the one that's fifth from your left. Lift its right arm up to its head and then put it down again. Turn around. On the opposite wall, there will be a small carving of the four paw prints. Tap it with your wand and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' You'll know what to do next. "'And, keep in mind that only the four of you will be able to open up the Room. So, if you ever want to take a girl there, make sure you arrive first. "'With that, we wish you luck in all your future mischievous adventures. And as always, mischief managed.'" Matt glanced up from the wall as the writing slowly disappeared. "That's it." Albus grinned, "Well, anyone want to go check it out?" "Yeah!" everyone shouted. "Let's go, then," Albus led them all out of the classroom. Albus couldn't believe that they had managed to figure out all the clues and were on their way to the room his grandfather had discovered when he was in school. Everything they had done that year with the map seemed to have led up to this. Albus was extremely excited about this room. It would be solely theirs. The Room of Requirement seemed like their own private common room whenever they were in it, but it really wasn't. The Marauders' room would be their own private common room. Nobody else would know about it. Nobody else would even be able to get in it. Albus and his friends tried to get to the sixth floor corridor as fast as they could without drawing attention to themselves. Albus hoped the corridor would be empty when they got there. They couldn't exactly get into the room if there was anyone hanging around. There was one kid walking around near the northern end of the corridor when Albus and his friends got there. He must have been a first year because he was even shorter than Matt. Albus didn't recognize him, but Kaden did. "Hi, Leonard," Kaden said once they got closer to him. The kid jumped and turned around. "Oh, hi, Kaden. Thought you were a bunch of Slytherins." "Nope, no Slytherins here," Kaden replied, "But we're going to let off some dung bombs here, so you'd better get going." "Oh, ok. See you later," Leonard said and quickly ran down the corridor. "Nice one," Albus laughed, "But what if he tells Filch we're setting off dung bombs?" "He won't," Kaden assured them, "He's kind of afraid of Filch. Plus, he hardly talks to anyone." "Ok," Albus shrugged, "That's good, I guess." Albus walked a few more feet down the corridor and stood in front of the suits of armor. His friends joined him. Albus silently counted the suits of armor and found the fifth one from the left. He wordlessly walked over to it and lifted up its right arm. "It'll be somewhere on that wall," Albus pointed to the wall opposite the suits of armor. Everybody spread out along the wall and began to look for the paw prints. Albus assumed they would be small like the clues throughout the school and he was right. Anyone who walked by would never be able to spot them. "There they are," Albus pointed to a spot that was about level with his nose. "Ready?" Everyone nodded. Albus took a deep breath and tapped the paw prints with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The paw prints sunk into the stone and a small stone doorknob appeared just where they had been. Albus turned to glance at his friends before grasping it. They all wore looks of excitement. Albus turned back to the wall, took a deep breath, and turned the doorknob.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Sunday 2 November 2008 06 52 14 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks, Obladi! Questions, comments, and general reviews always appreciated! Chapter 32: Riddles For the next few days, Albus found his mind drifting to the clue every time he tried to study. It was driving him mad. Where else did he sleep besides his bed? None of his friends had come up with anything either. Rose didn't seem to be putting much thought into it, since exams were only a month and a half away. She seemed to think that Albus ought not to focus too much on the clue either, but Albus couldn't help it. Albus was completely ignoring Professor Binns' boring lecture the following Wednesday and focusing solely on the clue. A place to sleep, he thought as he tapped his quill on his book. He sighed and lifted his head up. Rose was the only one actually taking notes. John's eyes were drooping and Albus was sure he'd fall asleep soon. Sleep! Albus grinned to himself. That was it! The History of Magic classroom was the answer. It seemed obvious to him now. Everyone except perhaps Rose had fallen asleep at one time or another in that room. Albus quickly scribbled the answer onto a piece of parchment and handed it to Matt. Matt read it, smiled at Albus, and passed it on to John. The note made its way to Rose and Amanda after that, who turned around and nodded to Albus. Once Professor Binns stopped his lecture and everyone hurried to leave the room as soon as possible, Albus purposely spilled his ink onto the floor. "I'll just clean this up, Professor," Albus said as he bent down. "Yes, yes, Mr. Pewter..." Professor Binns responded absentmindedly and drifted through the chalk board. "Ok, any ideas where the four paw prints could be?" Rose asked as she quickly cleaned up the ink with a wave of her wand. "No idea," Albus replied, "Probably one of the desks, since that's where we sleep. Let's just split up and look." Luckily there wasn't a class in the room at that moment, so Albus and his friends had as much time as they needed to look. Albus started his search in the front, making sure to inspect each desk carefully. It was John who found the paw prints, about twenty minutes after they started searching. They were on one of the desks in the back. Albus and the others hurried over to it and John pointed it out. Sure enough, there were four tiny paw prints etched into the bottom of the desk. "You do it, John," Albus told him, "You found it." "All right," John said and touched the paw prints. It was kind of awkward to have all five of them underneath the desk at the same time, but they managed. Albus watched as the paw prints disappeared and words replaced them. 'Find the place where we play, and make the Slytherins pay.' Albus groaned as he got out from under the desk. He scribbled the new clue onto the piece of parchment below the old one. Another difficult clue. "Any ideas?" he asked, as he and his friends left the room. "Nope," John shrugged, "But how would they make the Slytherins pay them? Were they betting with them? And how are we supposed to know where they made bets with them?" "It's wherever they played," Matt said. "But where was that?" John replied. "I don't think it means the Slytherins paid them," Rose commented, "I don't think it was meant to be that literal. It probably just means they got the Slytherins back for something, or beat them at something." "And it's got to be the same place they played something," John said. Matt stopped in his tracks, "Of course! It's the Quidditch Pitch!" Albus turned around to look at him, grinning. "Why didn't I think of that? It's obvious now! They played Quidditch there, and beat the Slytherins." "Let's go down to the Quidditch Pitch, then," Matt said. "Let's eat first," John suggested, "I'm starving." "Good idea," Amanda agreed. "I think we should study after lunch," Rose sighed. "You can," Albus replied, "But I want to go to the Quidditch Pitch first." Rose groaned and followed Albus and the others to the Great Hall. They were late for lunch, since they spent so long in the History of Magic classroom. Kaden demanded to know where they were, and became very excited when Albus whispered that they were following the clues for the map. He was a bit disappointed that Albus would be continuing to work on it after lunch, since Kaden had classes, but Albus assured him that they would update him later that evening. Albus, Matt, and John ate a very hurried lunch, as they wanted to get out to the Quidditch Pitch as soon as possible. Rose announced that she would not be going with them because she wanted to devote the afternoon to studying. Amanda agreed with her since her Astronomy grade was abysmal at the moment. Albus was very relieved to see that the Quidditch Pitch was completely deserted when he and his friends entered it a few minutes later. This may have been because of the torrential downpour, but Albus didn't mind getting soaked. "Any ideas as to where it would be?" John asked. "Maybe the goal posts?" Albus suggested, "They couldn't have put the prints on the ground." "Let's get looking, then," Matt said. Albus, Matt, and John each started inspecting one of the goal posts. Albus looked carefully, but couldn't find anything. Neither did John or Matt. The three of them ran to the other side of the pitch and began to look at the other three posts. "You know, I'll bet they etched them up higher," Albus realized as he finished inspecting his goal post. "It would make it harder." "You're probably right," John agreed. "Let's go," Albus started running over to the changing rooms. He kept his broom in his dormitory, but there were plenty of school brooms in the changing rooms. They would suffice for this. Albus wrenched the door open and led his friends over to where the school brooms were kept. He handed each of them a broom and the three of them headed back out into the rain. Albus kicked off from the ground and flew directly towards the goal posts. His broom listed to the left and Albus was really grateful he got to play Quidditch on a superior broom. Despite the mediocre broom, he was still faster than Matt and John, and made it to the goal posts before either of them. It didn't take Albus long to find the prints. They were etched in the very top of the middle goal post. "Found them!" he shouted at John and Matt. The two of them immediately flew over to Albus. "Go on, let's see the next clue," Matt said. Albus touched the prints and strained to make out the next clue through the pouring rain. "'Find the place we got when we're not feeling our best, one of us goes there more than the rest,'" Albus read and then looked up at his friends. "Hospital Wing," Matt said immediately, "That one was kind of obvious." "Somehow I don't think riddles were the Marauders' strong suit," Albus commented as they flew back down to the ground. "Makes it easier for us," John grinned. "Not really," Matt said, "You know how hard it's going to be to search the Hospital Wing for four tiny paw prints? What do you suppose we'll tell Madam Pomfrey? 'Don't mind us, we're just searching your entire ward for some carvings that were left here decades ago.'" Matt rolled his eyes. Albus didn't say anything as they walked back to the changing rooms. Matt was right. It would be extremely difficult to search the Hospital Wing for the next clue. Madam Pomfrey was always there. They could never get the place empty in order for them to search. "Anyone got any ideas as to how we can do this?" Albus asked as they walked back to the castle. "Not a clue," Matt shrugged. "Hey," John turned to Matt, "Maybe you can go look for it the next time you're there. During the night or something." "Are you mad?" Matt laughed, "She'd wonder what I was up to. She's always got an eye on me. Must be some kind of sixth sense. If I so much as turn over in bed, she comes out of her room and asks me what's wrong. I can only imagine what she'd do if I started searching the whole place in the dead of night." "Didn't think of that," John replied. Albus sighed dejectedly and decided to just go to the common room and do his homework. He had been neglecting it the whole week and figured he would have to do it sometime. Rose would at least be happy. Rose and Amanda were feverishly working on homework when Albus, John, and Matt entered the practically deserted common room. The boys settled down at the table Rose and Amanda were sitting at and reluctantly pulled out their books. "Success?" Rose asked without looking up from her book. "Yeah," Albus whispered, "But now we've got to find the next clue in the Hospital Wing, which should be pretty impossible." Rose thought for a moment "Yeah, that will be difficult," she said and then continued her reading. Albus tried his best to concentrate on his homework for the rest of the afternoon. He did manage to write an essay for Potions and read a chapter of his Herbology book, but after that he just couldn't do anything else. John was all too happy to stop doing homework as well, and the two of them played chess until dinner. After dinner, Albus and his friends went to the Room of Requirement, as Albus had promised Kaden he would tell him about the new developments with the map. Kaden was a bit jealous he didn't get to fly around the Quidditch Pitch looking for the next clue. "I thought you didn't like Quidditch," John said. "I just said I think football is better," Kaden explained, "That doesn't mean I don't like flying." "Well, we're going to have plenty of other clues to work out," Albus reminded him, "Like the one we're working on right now." "And what's that one?" Kaden asked. "'Find the place we go when we're not feeling our best, one of us goes there more than the rest,'" Albus told him. "Where could that be?" Kaden asked. "The Hospital Wing," Albus said, "We've already figured it out. We just don't know how to get in to look without Madam Pomfrey there." "Hmm..." Kaden walked slowly around the room, "Shouldn't be that hard...." "And why's that?" Matt asked, "She's always there." "We've just got to get her out of the room for a while," Kaden said, "My friends and I at my old school did it a few times with teachers. You just use a distraction to get them out of the room for a few minutes or so." Albus was amazed that his cousin was able to think of that. Albus always thought Kaden wasn't too bright, but he did come up with good ideas every so often. "That might work," Rose said. "And how are we going to get her out of the Hospital Wing?" John asked, "She's always in there." "One of us just has to pretend to be ill or injured," Kaden explained. "We could use a Fainting Fancy for that," John suggested. "No we can't," Albus said, "She's seen them too many times. No way she'd believe it." "She would if I did it," Matt said quietly. ****** Albus had been thoroughly surprised by Matt's willingness to eat a Fainting Fancy to trick Madam Pomfrey. He had become much more outgoing since the previous year. Albus figured it was because he was more certain now that none of his friends were going to announce to the entire school that he was a werewolf. Albus and his friends immediately formed a plan once Matt had so willingly volunteered to eat the Fainting Fancy. It would take place the following Saturday. Matt, Amanda, and Kaden would be stationed on the grounds, as they figured it would be best for Matt to faint as far away from the Hospital Wing as possible. Albus, John, and Rose would hide next to the Hospital Wing underneath the Invisibility Cloak and dash in as soon as Madam Pomfrey left. They figured it would guarantee them twenty minutes of searching, perhaps thirty if they were lucky. Saturday arrived and Albus was eager to put the plan into action. Rose figured it would be best to do it in the morning, when most students were either sleeping or lounging around in their common rooms. It would be better not to attract too much unwanted attention. Albus, John, and Rose headed up the stairs after breakfast, while Matt, Amanda, and Kaden went out onto the grounds. Once Albus, John, and Rose reached the Hospital Wing, Albus pulled out the Invisibility Cloak and threw it over them. "And now, we wait," Albus whispered. "Shush," Rose hissed. About twenty minutes later, Kaden came running down the corridor with a fake worried look on his face. Albus only hoped that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't be able to tell it was fake. Kaden ran past Albus and into the Hospital Wing. Not even a minute later, he burst back through behind Madam Pomfrey. "And where is he?" the nurse shouted. "On the grounds," Kaden told her. "Hurry up! Show me where!" Madam Pomfrey and Kaden disappeared around the corner and Albus, John, and Rose hurried into the Hospital Wing. "I'd say we've only got twenty minutes," Albus muttered, "She's fast." "Let's get looking," Rose said. Only one of the beds was occupied and the curtains were drawn around it. Albus hoped the paw prints weren't on or near that bed. He quickly ran to the nearest bedside table and started investigating it. Five minutes passed, then ten, then fifteen, and still nobody had found anything. Albus was beginning to get worried. They couldn't pull off a stunt like this again. "Found it!" Rose announced. Albus breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried over to the farthest bed and bent down next to Rose. "Where is it?" John asked. "There," Rose pointed to the right side of the bedside table. Albus craned his head and saw the carving. He quickly touched it and watched as the words materialized. "Hurry," Rose said, "I hear footsteps." "Write it down," Albus said as he shoved the piece of parchment that had the other clues on it to her, "'Find the place where we are served and waited on, they even have pie of pecan.'" Albus stood up as Rose scribbled it down. "They're coming!" John seethed as the door opened. Albus quickly pulled out the Invisibility Cloak and threw it over the three of them. "Tell me again what happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked exasperatingly as she levitated Matt onto a bed. "Er, he just fainted, madam," Kaden said. "What were you doing?" she asked as she waved her wand over Matt. "Just sitting and talking," Amanda said. "Hmm..." Madam Pomfrey muttered, "This particular fainting looks an awfully lot like the kind that results from eating a Fainting Fancy. Either of you have any idea as to why?" "Er," Kaden stammered. "No, not really," Amanda shrugged. The nurse stood up and looked at Kaden, who was beginning to turn red. "Are you sure, Mr. Dursley?" "I, well, er, I may have given him a sweet," Kaden stammered, "But I didn't know it was a Fainting Fancy!" "He's Muggle-born, like me," Amanda explained, "He probably didn't know what it did." Madam Pomfrey sighed, "Yes, that might be true. Although it makes me wonder why Matt actually ate it. Just give me the other half." Amanda reluctantly pulled the other half of the sweet out of her robes and handed it to the nurse. Madam Pomfrey put it in Matt's mouth and within seconds he was opening his eyes. "I don't know what you lot are up to, and I don't really care to know, but I would suggest that you not mess around with making yourselves ill," Madam Pomfrey said sternly, "Now get back to your common room, all three of you." Albus, John, and Rose carefully maneuvered their way over to the door and snuck out behind Matt, Amanda, and Kaden. Once they were a safe distance from the Hospital Wing, they pulled off the cloak. "That went fairly well," John announced. Matt, Amanda, and Kaden shrieked. "Merlin, don't do that!" Matt shouted. "Sorry," John grinned, "Anyway, that was pretty good improvising back there." "I can't believe she figured out that it was a Fainting Fancy," Kaden sighed. "Honestly, I didn't think she'd figure it out either," Matt said, "I half expected her to keep me there overnight to make sure I was all right. Didn't expect her to kick me out with you lot." "How's it feel to be treated normally?" John laughed. "Shut up," Matt said, "I am happy I don't have to be there overnight. I spend enough time in that place." "Did you get the clue?" Amanda asked. "Sure did," Albus grinned, "Rose found it." "What is it?" Kaden asked. "Hang on," Albus said, "We'll tell you once we're in the Room." A few minutes later, Albus and his friends were once again in the Room of Requirement working on the clue. "'Find the place where we are waited and served on, they even have pie of pecan,'" Albus said. "The Great Hall," Amanda said immediately. "But we're not really waited on there," Rose pointed out, "The food just appears." "It's got to be somewhere with food," Kaden said. "The kitchens," John announced. "Brilliant," Albus grinned, "Everyone up for a trip to the kitchens?" "You know where the kitchens are?" Kaden asked. "Sure do," Albus replied, "We'll show you." ****** "I can't believe you didn't show me the kitchens," Kaden lamented as he followed Albus and the others down the stairs. "Never came up," Albus shrugged. Albus continued leading his friends down to the kitchens, while wondering how he would possibly find the next clue while he was there. The kitchens were huge. Albus had no idea where the Marauders would have carved the paw prints. Albus stopped in front of the picture of the bowl of fruit and tickled the pear. It giggled and turned into a handle, which Albus turned. "Bloody hell," Kaden stood transfixed in the doorway as he stared out at the kitchens. "Go on, already," Albus pushed Kaden into the room, "We don't want anyone to see us." Kaden walked into the kitchens and everyone else followed him. They were immediately greeted by no less than ten house elves. "Is young masters and mistresses needing anything?" the elf closest to Albus asked. "Yeah!" John grinned, "How about a turkey sandwich, some crisps, a piece of treacle tart, and a glass of pumpkin juice." Rose raised her eyebrow, "Lunch is in an hour." "You're right," John replied and then turned to the elf, "Skip the crisps." "I'll have the same, except a roast beef sandwich," Kaden said. "And I'll have a cheese sandwich," Matt told the elf, "Please." "I'll just take some crisps, please," Albus said. "Boys," Rose muttered. "Will that be all?" the elf asked as a few other elves scurried away. "Actually," Albus began after realizing that maybe the elf could help, "I was wondering if any of the elves were here in the 1970's?" "Yes," the elf smiled, "Quite a few of us. I myself was here then." "Excellent," Albus grinned, "Then I was wondering if you could help us. But we need you not to mention it to anyone, not even the other elves or the teachers." "Of course, sir," the elf said. "All right," Albus took a deep breath, "We're looking for a carving of sorts that's some place in here. It's four tiny paw prints. I don't know if you remember four students who called themselves 'The Marauders'-" "I is remembering them well!" the elf laughed, "They was very amusing. Always down here wanting food." "That's them," Albus grinned, "Anyway, they carved these paw prints somewhere in here. Have you seen anything like that?" "I has seen it," the elf smiled, "Behind the ovens." "Can you show us?" Albus asked. "Of course." The elf led the way through the throngs of other elves over to where the ovens were. He squatted down and pointed to behind the largest one. Albus bent down next to him, but everyone else had to remain standing due to lack of space. "Right there, sir," the elf said. Albus craned his neck and just made out the paw prints, situated in a very awkward position near a pipe. "Thanks," Albus replied, "Er, I actually have to get closer." "Not a problem," the elf ducked out of the way and stood next to John. Albus reached behind the stove and quickly touched the paw prints. They were very hot. Words formed on the stone and Albus jotted them down on the parchment before reemerging. "Got it," he whispered, "I think this is the last clue. 'Go to the place where we learn to fight the dark, it is there where we've left our final mark'." "Certainly sounds like it," Rose agreed. "Yes!" Kaden shouted in between bites of sandwich. "Brilliant," John grinned, "Let's go." "I hate to say it, but I've got Quidditch practice after lunch, so I don't think there's time today," Albus sighed. He wished practice would be canceled, but the chances of that were slim to none. "Bugger," Matt groaned. "We've waited this long, we can wait some more," Amanda pointed out. "Hey," Albus turned to the elf, "Thanks for the help." "You're welcome," the elf smiled.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Friday 31 October 2008 01 20 24 pm    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Questions, comments, and general reviews always appreciated! Special thanks to Fawkes who came up with the name for the real estate agent. Chapter 18: House Hunting We wound up having lunch at The Mooning Dragon and Nat was delighted to have us there. Oliander told us that he regretted not being able to eat with us, but he had other business to attend to at the school. Mum, Dad, and Uncle Jack talked about a whole range of topics including the school, Uncle Jack's job, and the weather. I didn't really pay much attention. I mainly just sat there and picked at my food. I wasn't really that hungry and my stomach was a bit queasy. Seeing all the students at the school just hit me hard. Knowing that I might be amongst them next year. It just seemed so weird to see a school that I might go to. A school that's not the Australian School of Sorcery. Could I really do this? Could I fit myself into a group of kids that have known each other since they were eleven? I sighed and glanced up from my food. My parents were laughing with Uncle Jack and Nat. They looked truly happy. Mum's face was lit up like I hadn't seen it in months. Even Dad looked happy. Maybe we did belong in New York. If we moved here, would my parents be happy like this all the time? Or were they just happy now because they hadn't seen Uncle Jack in so long and because Dad hadn't worked in a few days? Was I the only one that was going to miss Australia? I felt kind of sick just thinking about it. No one else in my family cared. They would probably move today if they could. They wouldn't care. Surely Mum would miss her parents, wouldn't she? Well, maybe not after Cinda threw that going away party. I nibbled on a roll and watched my brother's eyes slowly close. He wasn't cheery and happy like my parents were. He looked utterly exhausted, which is exactly how I felt. The jet lag certainly wasn't helping my mood. "What did you think of the Adirondack Academy of Magic?" Nat asked as she refilled Dad's water glass. "It was nice," I smiled. What else could I say? "I'm very glad," Nat replied and then turned to Matt, "And what about you, dear?" "Huh?" his eyes snapped open and he glanced around confusedly. "Are you all right, dear?" Nat asked with a look of concern on his face. "Just tired," Matt replied. "Oh, right. I keep forgetting you just flew in yesterday," Nat said, "I hope you liked the school." "Yeah, it was good," Matt told her and then leaned his head onto his hand. When lunch was finally over, all I wanted to do was go back to Uncle Jack's house and go to sleep. Mum and Dad wouldn't let me, though. They said the best thing to do was just wait until night to sleep and then my body would adjust to New York time. I was less than enthused about this, especially when Mum told me we were going house hunting. "We'll have to Apparate there," Uncle Jack announced once we finished lunch. "The Real Estate office I'm going to show you specializes in both Muggle and wizard houses, so we can't Floo. We'll Apparate to the closest Apparition center and walk from there." Mum grimaced. I knew the last thing she'd want to do is walk in this storm. "It's not near here," Uncle Jack grinned, "So it might not be snowing there. It's actually closer to my house." I reluctantly followed my family out of the pub and into the street. I didn't really think it was fair that Mum was letting Matt sleep in Uncle Jack's arms but she wouldn't let me go back to his house to take a nap. But Mum always let Matt sleep when he was tired, so I didn't complain about it. I wordlessly went into Dad's arms and we Apparated to the place Uncle Jack described. We wound up in a small room with a few chairs and a desk. Behind the desk was a very bored looking witch who didn't look much older than me. She was flipping through a magazine and eating French fries. She glanced up as we appeared, but didn't say anything. "This way," Uncle Jack muttered and we followed him out onto the street. "It's not far from here." It wasn't currently snowing on this street, but there were high snowbanks alongside the road, so it must have snowed recently. It was also ice cold. I wrapped my scarf tighter around my face and tilted my head down as we walked straight into the wind. Luckily Uncle Jack was right and we didn't have to walk far. Only a few minutes after we stepped outside the Apparition center, Uncle Jack led us into a building that looked in dire need of a paint job. The inside was much nicer than the outside. There was a sitting area with green chairs and a television that was tuned into a news station. Nearby that was a desk with a secretary typing onto a computer and talking into a headset. Beyond that was a corridor which seemed to lead to a few offices. I stood behind my parents as they waited for the secretary to be done with her conversation. "May I help you?" she asked after a minute or so. "Yes," Uncle Jack replied, "My brother and sister-in-law have an appointment with Miss Josephina Hawkings." Dad turned to look at Uncle Jack with a raised eyebrow. Uncle Jack grinned, "Made the appointment this morning." "She'll be with you shortly," the secretary gestured to the waiting area. We all sat down in the chairs and waited for the agent to call us in. The adults talked quietly about houses and I stared at the Muggle news. There wasn't anything interesting on it. Right now they were discussing the snow storm that was supposed to arrive the next day. Matt was still asleep on Uncle Jack's lap and I was incredibly jealous. I was dreading this house hunting and it appeared that Matt would just sleep through the whole thing. I wanted to sleep through the whole thing. I doubted my parents would let me have much say in the whole thing anyway. "Walter and Julie Eckerton?" a voice from behind me said. I looked up and saw a very tall woman with dark brown hair pulled in a tight bun. She had a long face with a pointy chin and a rather prominent nose. She wore glasses on the very tip of her nose. She also seemed to have the same fashion sense as Cinda, based on the peach colored pants suit she was wearing. We all stood up and the agent stuck out her hand, "Josephina Hawkings." Dad shook it, "Walt Eckerton, my wife Julie, and our kids Amy and Matt. I believe you know my brother." "Yes, I helped him find his plot of land," Josephina Hawkings replied. We followed her down the corridor and into a tiny room that was her office. It was quite cramped with all five of us, plus Josephina in it. There were only three chairs in the room. Josephina took the one behind her desk, while my parents took the others. I stood behind them with Uncle Jack, who was still carrying Matt. "So, you're looking to buy a house," Josephina said. "Yes," Dad replied. "What area of the state?" Josephina asked. Dad looked at Mum and shrugged, "Well, perhaps somewhere near Jack, but we're not too picky." "Could you tell me a bit about your current house to help me get some ideas?" she asked. "Well," Dad began, "It's rather large. Ten bedrooms, six baths, completely walled in-" Josephina's eyes lit up, "Ah! You live on an estate now! This gives me so many more opportunities! Let's see, there are a few houses like that up for sale. Let me see here..." she rifled through the papers on her desk. "Wait," Dad said after exchanging a glance with Mum, "We were actually looking for something a bit smaller." "Nonsense!" Josephina laughed, "Just wait until you see these houses." "Really, we're only four people, we don't need that much space," Mum told her. "But your house now is so large," Josephina said. "It was my parents' house," Dad sighed, "I inherited it, so we moved in. It's not like we would have set out to buy something so grand." Josephina looked a bit disappointed, "Well, if you're sure...." "We're sure," Mum said. "All right," Josephina sighed, "What size were you looking for?" "Anywhere from three to five bedrooms would be fine," Dad replied. "And would you be interested in a Muggle or wizarding house?" "Either is fine," Dad said. Josephina nodded and pulled out a binder. "Well, the best way is to just see the houses. I've got portkeys for all of them. Does that sound good?" Dad nodded, "Yes, that will be fine." "All right then," Josephina pulled out a keyring that had a variety of different colored keys on them. They were all rather large. "Each key is a portkey. I've got a great house for sale only a couple miles from Jack." Josephina held out the key and we all placed a finger on it. She tapped the key with her wand and I felt myself being transported to some unknown house. I landed with a thud onto the snow covered lawn of the house. I got up and tried to brush the snow off my pants, but it was already melting into them. Great, now I was going to have wet pants the whole time. The house looked nice from the outside. It was in the middle of an open field, with hardly any trees. It was painted dark brown and had blue shutters on the windows. "Four bedrooms, two baths," Josephina said as we started up the path to the front door, "About fifteen years old. The wizards that lived here moved about a week ago. Been on the market for about two months." Josephina opened the door and we all stepped inside. The outside of the house was much nicer than the inside. The carpet was ripped up in places and had mysterious stains in others. There was no furniture anywhere. The walls had a few holes in them. Not to mention the smell. There was a very odd smell in the entire place. I followed my parents into the house and we started looking around the living room. Mum had a look of shock on her face and Dad was peering into one of the holes. Uncle Jack was walking slowly into the kitchen. "Well, what do you think?" Josephina asked excitedly. Mum stared at her, "Well, it's not in the greatest shape, is it?" "It's a fixer upper, I'll give you that," Josephina said, "But now you can fix it up however you'd like." Mum and Dad exchanged glances, "I think we'd prefer something with a bit less 'fixing up' involved," Dad said. "Oh, gross!" Uncle Jack called from the kitchen. "There's an old cauldron with a fermenting potion in it in here." Josephina's cheeks turned red, "I guess I'll have to clean the place up a bit." "We're leaving," Mum announced. "On to the next house." "Don't you want to see the upstairs?" "No way," Mum said. Uncle Jack returned from the kitchen and Matt was awake now, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "It's nasty in there," Uncle Jack muttered. "It stinks," Matt said flatly, "I don't like this house." "None of us do, sweetie," Mum smiled at him. "We're going to go look at another one." Josephina led us out the door and then she pulled out another key. We wordlessly took it and portkeyed to another house. The entire afternoon was spent looking at houses. I was completely knackered by the time we finally finished. I personally thought the whole afternoon was pointless because we didn't find a single house we liked. They were either too small, too big, too much fixing up involved, or in a bad location. The only nice one we found was a Muggle house, but it was in a neighborhood with the next house only meters away. That wasn't going to work with Matt's transformations. "I guess we'll just build a house," Dad said as we all sat around the dinner table. "I think that would be a good idea," Mum agreed. "So we're moving here?" I asked. "Nothing's final yet, Amy," Dad told me, "We still have a few places to visit." I nodded and continued eating my food. I was a bit hungrier now, but still not as much as usual. I was kind of glad we didn't find a decent house, though. Now my parents could just build one and decide for themselves what it looked like. I went to bed early that night since I was so exhausted. Matt was already asleep when I slipped underneath the covers. I fell asleep quickly, despite my worries about the new school and new house. The next day I finally got to play in the snow. Dad had to visit the New York ministry and see if there were any sort of jobs available that were anything like the job he had in Australia. The rest of us just stayed at Uncle Jack's house all day. The snow was completely awesome. I built an entire snow family, complete with a pet dog. Mum, Uncle Jack, and Matt helped as well. Then we all went sledding on a nearby hill. I don't think I've ever enjoyed anything as much as sailing down a snowy hill on a piece of plastic. The wind was bitingly cold, but I didn't care. We didn't stop until we couldn't feel our fingers and toes. Well, Mum went inside after only two hours, but the rest of us stayed out much longer. Mum had soup and hot chocolate waiting for us when we finally got too cold to stay outside. Dad returned home late in the day, but unfortunately the New York ministry had no openings in their version of the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures. He said he would just have to do something different if we chose to move there. It wasn't really something he wanted to do, but he would if it was necessary. Maybe we weren't definitely going to move to New York. I was sure that if another country had an opening in a place Dad wanted to work, we'd probably move there instead. I had kind of been hoping we'd just move to New York, if we had to move at all. But if Dad couldn't get a job, there's no way we could move there.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Wednesday 29 October 2008 04 08 43 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks Obladi! Glad you like the lines! Chapter 31: Success Albus, John, Rose, and Amanda all agreed to wait until after dinner to visit Matt in the Hospital Wing the next day. They had the afternoon off, but Kaden didn't, and he wanted to come along. Kaden seemed even happier now that he was no longer excluded from anything that Albus did. Gone were the days where Albus would be able to sneak off to the Room of Requirement without Kaden, now that he knew about the room. Of course, Albus supposed he could just ask the room not make itself noticeable to Kaden, but Kaden could probably guess that he was in there anyway. "You have to be quiet in the Hospital Wing, Kaden," Albus explained as they walked there after dinner, "Or else Madam Pomfrey will throw you out." "I'll be quiet," Kaden assured him. Albus pushed open the door and everyone followed him inside. Madam Pomfrey was pouring a bluish potion into a bottle and looked up when she saw Albus and his friends enter. She raised her eyebrow and peered at Kaden curiously. "He knows now," Albus explained when he saw the nurse's curious look. "Huh," Madam Pomfrey shook her head, "You'd better keep it quiet, Kaden. Don't go telling the whole school about it." "I won't," Kaden sighed, "Why does everyone think I will?" "Because they know you," Albus smirked, "Now let's go." Albus led his friends over to the only occupied bed and pulled back the curtains. Matt was awake, but he looked exhausted as usual. "Hey, how are you?" Albus asked. "All right," Matt replied. Albus, John, Rose, and Amanda crowded around Matt's bed like usual, but Kaden had frozen in place and was staring at Matt. For the first time in his life, he was speechless. "What's with you, Kaden?" Matt asked. Kaden shook his head and then went over to the bed. "Er, nothing. I just didn't really expect, well..." Kaden gestured to Matt's arm, which was bandaged and in a sling. "Oh, yeah, told you it was horrible," Matt said, "Broke my arm last night." "I didn't know that's what would happen," Kaden said quietly. "Only happens sometimes," Matt explained. "But he always looks like he got off worse in a duel," John commented, gesturing to the gash on Matt's cheek. "It heals," Matt shrugged, "So, what's new with you lot?" "Not much," Rose said, "But what happened in Potions on Monday? Were you all right?" "Oh, yeah, I mean I slept the entire rest of the day and all night and all day yesterday, but I'm no worse than usual." "You slept for that long?" Kaden looked astonished. "I've slept for longer than that," Matt replied, "Record's four days." "Four days?!" "Yeah." "But why did you sleep that much this time?" Rose asked, "Was it the potion?" "Yeah. Actually, one of the active ingredients in the Drowsiness Potion is also in the Wolfsbane I take, so it was like I got a double dose. That's why the potion had more of an effect on me than everyone else and why it took so long to wear off." "That makes sense," Rose said. "But Madam Pomfrey said I can't finish making that potion next week," Matt continued, "Because it seems to affect me more than it's supposed to. Malfoy won't be too happy." "He wasn't that bad about it the other day, though. The potion seemed to make him too sleepy to care," John laughed. "Hopefully that'll happen next week, too," Matt said. "I don't see why it wouldn't," Rose commented. "So," Albus lowered his voice, "We're going to start looking for that Wizard's Finger Print charm as soon as you get out of here." "Excellent," Matt grinned, "I'll be out by Friday, probably." "We'll do it over the weekend, then," Rose said, "Along with studying for exams." "Don't remind me," Matt groaned. ****** The rest of the week passed by very slowly. Albus was excited about finding the Wizard's Finger Print charm, so that didn't help matters. After what seemed like forever, Saturday finally arrived and Albus and his friends found themselves holed up in the library, searching as many books as they could. "Look in the index," Rose instructed as she dumped a huge pile of books onto the table, "Just look up 'Wizard's Finger Print' and if it's not there, don't bother searching that book." "What would we do without you, Rose?" John laughed as he took the book that was on top. "Oh, it would take you until sixth year to figure this out," Rose grinned. "You're probably right," John agreed. Albus had to agree with this. Rose had done most of the work for this map, even though it was Albus, Matt, John, and Kaden who were supposed to be the new Marauders. But it's not like Rose wouldn't benefit from the map, so Albus tried not to feel guilty about it. Albus grabbed a book and opened it up to the index. He ran his finger down it until he got to the Ws. Nope, Wizard's Finger Print wasn't there. Albus sighed and reached for another. No such luck with that one either. The morning progressed like this and Albus became increasingly disappointed that they hadn't found anything. "This is hopeless," John sighed and tossed a book onto the table next to them, which was being used as a discard table. "We'll find it eventually," Rose assured him. "I'm bored," Kaden announced. "Me, too," Amanda agreed. "Keep looking," Matt told them as he grabbed another book. "It's got to be here somewhere," Albus said. Albus went through another five books before he actually found one that had Wizard's Finger Print in the index. Everyone else had found books that contained it, but didn't give the incantation. Albus excitedly flipped to the page given in the index and quickly scanned it. &