Harry Potter Watch - Pocket and Wrist Watches

Wizards, Wardrobes and Wookiees Luke Skywalker. Lucy Pevensie. Harry Potter. For millions of children and adults alike, these names and stories are as familiar as those of close friends and family. We read and watch their adventures over and over again. We feel their fears and betrayals. We are inspired by their courage. And perhaps we wish we could live in their worlds, fight important battles and have our chance to become heroes.In these pages Connie Neal shows that we too in our seemingly ordinary world have a call on our life that's just as powerful, just as adventurous. While we won't run into Darth Vader or the White Witch on the street, we face villains as formidable as they. And though we don't have Obi Wan Kenobi or Dumbledore to mentor us, Wizards, Wardrobes and Wookiees reminds us of the Helper who teaches and guides as we walk through each day. By highlighting adventures from Star Wars, Narnia and Harry Potter, as well as true stories from Scripture and her own life, Neal shows us the way to victory over evil in the battles we face.This hope-filled, encouraging book takes us into mythical worlds we love in order to help us live wisely and well in our own so that our stories, in turn, can inspire all who see and hear.Market/AudienceCulture-watchersFans of C. S. LewisFans of the authorFans of the Harry Potter booksFeatures and BenefitsWritten by the bestselling author of The Gospel According to Harry PotterIncludes insights from three beloved book and movie seriesRelates popular book and movie material to Scripture and to everyday life $12.98

Harry Potter Broom The official Harry Potter broom is exactly watch you need to fly around Hogwarts this Halloween. $14.97

Harry Potter Clue Dark magic has been performed at Hogwarts! A fellow student has vanished from the famous School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and it is up to you to solve the mysterious disappearance. Play as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna or Neville and try to discover WHO did it, WHAT spell or item they used, and WHERE the student was attacked. Was it Draco Malfoy with a Sleeping Draught in the Owlery? Move around Hogwarts making suggestions, but watch out! Wheels on the board actually move to reveal secret passages, hidden staircases, and even the Dark Mark! Think you've gathered all the facts you need? Go to Dumbledore's office to make your final accusation to win the game!<br /><br />For 3 - 5 players , ages 9 and up.<br /><br />Contents: 1 game board, 6 movers, 33 Help cards, 33 Dark cards, 21 Mystery cards, 1 notepad, 40 house point tokens, 6 suspect tokens, 6 item tokens, 1 envelope, 2 standard dice, 1 Hogwarts die, 4 wheels, 4 plastic rivets, 1 label sheet and instructions. $49.98

Brain Bending Trivia Updated through the August 2009 Teen Choice Awards, this book covers all the pop culture kids ages 10-14 watch on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, read of Harry Potter and the Twilight series, and know about comics, sports, texting celebrities, movies, games and music, This book features questions, puzzles and word games about topics that preteens and early teens find most interesting. The book contains trivia questions, crosswords, word finds and matching puzzles. $5.99

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DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2486 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 3 February 2010 08 12 53 am    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 21: A Christmas Blizzard Albus spent most of the days preceding Christmas at Rose's house. James was determined to use all of his spare time for Quidditch practice, and he had to go to Rose's house for that. Albus usually went with him and he and Hugo would help James practice while Rose read. Harry had to practically separate James from his broom by magic on Christmas Eve so they could go to Godric's Hollow. James wanted to stay at Rose's house and keep practicing, but Harry refused to let him. The trip was quiet since James was rather sullen the entire time. “Professor Patil says I'm a natural at Transfiguration,” Lily bragged to Albus as they walked towards the Burrow afterwards. “That's good,” Albus replied. “Yeah, so I'm going to become an Animagus eventually. I want to be a cat.” “You don't get to choose what kind of animal you transform into,” Albus told her. “Oh,” Lily said, “But I think I'll become a cat.” Albus nodded as Lily began to describe in great detail what kind of cat she would transform into. Everyone else was already at the Burrow and Albus felt an immediate warmth come over him as he stepped inside. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was so cold and snowy outside, either. There was something so comforting about being at the Burrow surrounded by all his family. He was able to forget all the issues with the Quidditch tournament and Professor Killigan. All he could think about was how ravenous he was and how good some of his grandmother's cooking would be right about then. Rose sat down next to Albus as he tucked into a large bowl of onion soup with a side of homemade bread. “Uncle Charlie and Aunt Katherine are going back to Romania this summer,” Rose announced. “To tame more dragons?” Albus asked. His uncle and aunt hadn't done that since Stanley started Hogwarts, but they often talked about how they wanted to go back. “Yeah,” Rose nodded, “They might stay even after the summer's over, but Heather and Mark will come back to go to Hogwarts.” “They get to go, too?” “Yup. Stanley and Eddie are going, too. Stanley's quitting his job for it. He's definitely staying in Romania after the summer's over. He wants to get into dragon training.” “Wow,” Albus replied, “They're lucky. I guess it's good that Stanley decided what he wants to do.” Stanley had been working at the Magical Menagerie since he finished Hogwarts, but knew he didn't want to do that his whole life. He just didn't know what he did want to do. “I wish our parents would take us to some other country,” Albus sighed. “Me, too,” Rose agreed, “Imagine the history we could learn.” Albus personally had enough of History from Professor Binns, but he supposed learning history by traveling would be fun. “Christmas Quidditch tomorrow?” Teddy asked as he sat down next to Rose. “Definitely,” Albus grinned. “I wouldn't count on it, Teddy,” Molly said as she handed Albus another hunk of bread, “We're supposed to get the snowstorm of the decade tomorrow. The Muggle electricity is already out in town.” “Is it really?” Arthur popped his head into the room, “Fascinating! I may have to go see it tomorrow!” “You'll do no such thing!” Molly shouted, “It's near impossible to Appparate during such a storm. Not to mention the fact that it's Christmas and you should be here.” “We don't need electricity to play Quidditch!” Teddy exclaimed, “It'll be perfect training conditions! If you can catch a Snitch in the middle of a blizzard, you can catch one in any weather. It's not like Kendrick ever calls off Quidditch because of snow.” “We'll see tomorrow, Teddy,” Molly sighed. Albus finished his soup and he and Rose went into the den, where they were greeted by a loud chorus of 'Odo the Hero', sung by George, Alicia, Charlie, and Ron. Bill and Fleur were laughing while Hermione shook her head. Albus had a feeling the only reason why Fleur approved was because the singing was drowning out Celestina Warbeck. “So then I said, I'm not paying seven Sickles for that!” Percy said to Katherine, who was only sort of paying attention, “And the bloke looked at me like I was mad. I say he's mad, charging that much for a tour of a questionably historic old building. There really should be regulations on such things. It's one thing I'll change if I'm ever Minister.” Albus stifled a laugh. His Uncle Percy had been talking about running for Minister for the past ten years, but still hadn't done it. Most of his uncles and aunts got sick of hearing him talk about what he would and would not change. “Hey, Albus, Rose,” Victoire waved at him from across the room. “Hi Victoire,” Albus made his way over to her, “How is Healer training?” “Exhausting,” Victoire sighed, “And I have to figure out which part of the hospital I want to do the rest of my training in by September. We've been rotating throughout all the floors, but now we have to pick one. I'm nowhere near decided.” “You have until September,” Albus shrugged. It seemed like a long time to him. “I know,” Victoire replied, “But Amy's known where she wants to finish training since we were in fourth year.” “You're not in Amy's situation,” Teddy appeared and put his arm around her, “And I think you'll do great anyplace you decide.” “Thanks, Teddy,” Victoire smiled, “I'm thinking either the Maternity ward or Spell Damage.” “There's a busy ward,” Teddy grinned, “Spell Damage. You'll get all the funny injuries there.” “That's not a good reason to pick a specialization,” Victoire groaned. “Good a reason as any,” Teddy shrugged. The time grew later and after Albus played numerous rounds of Exploding Snap with his cousins, his grandmother announced that it was time for bed. Everyone argued, but there was really no point. Everyone, including the other adults, knew that arguing with Molly Weasley was useless. Albus trudged up the stairs to the highest bedroom that he shared with James, Ben, and Cedric. He climbed into bed and then realized just how big this impending blizzard was. The wind was howling louder than he'd ever heard before. The wind was so powerful that Albus could feel it through the gaps in the window. Every once in a while, the house would creak and shake. Albus sighed and put his pillow over his ears to try and drown out the howling. Albus didn't manage to drift off to sleep until after Cedric got out of bed, swore loudly, and disregarded the no magic outside of school rule to put a silencing charm on the room. ****** Albus was awoken by his annual Christmas wake-up call, Lily. She breezed through the door shouting about how they all needed to wake up and open their presents. “And there's three feet of snow outside,” Lily said as she left the room, “I checked.” “Merlin!” James jumped off the top bunk and looked out the window, “There is! And it's still coming!” “Whoa, you can't see anything!” Cedric added. “We could build the world's biggest snow wizard later,” Ben suggested. “We could build an entire snow wizard army,” Albus said. “Presents first,” James said as he located his pile of presents. Albus descended upon his own pile of presents and began opening them. There were the usual sweets and Weasleys' products from his aunts and uncles. Another Weasley sweater, this one scarlet and gold striped. He pulled it on over his pajamas and opened the rest of the presents from his aunts and uncles. His Aunt Hermione had gotten him a few books he'd probably never read, including one about the history of house elves at Hogwarts. Albus saved his parents' present for last, although he doubted they could top last year's. There really wasn't anything in the world that was better than the Invisibility Cloak. “Al, did you open Mum and Dad's yet?” James shouted. “I'm opening it now,” Albus said as he ripped the paper off the small box. “You'll never guess what they got us!” Albus opened the box and saw two tickets. Two tickets for the Quidditch World Cup that was taking place this summer! “Whoa!” Albus shouted, “World Cup tickets!” “I didn't even know they were on sale this early!” James said. “You two get the best presents,” Cedric said. “Hey, I got two tickets,” James replied. “Yeah, two,” Ben sighed, “You can only pick one of us to go.” Albus suddenly realized he had the same problem. Two tickets. Five friends he would want to take. Who was he going to choose? Not Rose. They may have been friends since they were babies, but she just didn't have a passion for Quidditch. Neither did Kaden. He was another to cross off the list. John and Matt were the Quidditch fans. He'd have to choose between them. Amanda liked Quidditch well enough, but she didn't follow a team or anything. “Those are limited edition tickets,” Ben said, “They don't know who's playing yet, so they don't sell very many tickets ahead of time.” “They're for the top box, too,” James said in awe. Lily burst into the room with a big grin on her face. She was holding two tickets as well. “Did you get Quidditch tickets?” “Yeah,” Albus and James said at the same time. “This is going to be brilliant,” Lily said and then ran out of the room. Albus's parents were already in the kitchen by the time Albus went downstairs. They were sitting at the table eating breakfast. Albus gave them each a huge hug and then sat down. “How did you get the tickets?” he asked. “They were a gift from the Minister,” Harry replied, “The Cup is in Canada this year and he's good friends with their president. Got him a lot of free tickets.” Albus grinned as he began to eat breakfast. Somehow his parents had come close to topping last year's present. Now not only was he going to get to see the World Cup, he would get to travel to a different country. Rose came downstairs a little while later and was impressed with the tickets. She had no desire to go to the Cup and had no suggestions on how Albus was going to choose between John and Matt. “Anyone up for Quidditch later?” Teddy announced as he sauntered into the kitchen. “Not under my watch!” Molly shouted, “You can't see a foot in front of you out there! And it must be close to 15 below!” “Maybe after lunch, then,” Teddy shrugged. Molly shook her head and sighed as she set a few more platters of eggs and toast onto the table. There was a knock on the door that could only just be heard over the howling wind. Molly glanced at Arthur, who shrugged and got up to see who it was. Albus followed, very curious to see who would visit on Christmas morning in the middle of a huge blizzard. “Xeno, is that you?” Arthur shouted outside. “Yes!” Xenophilius Lovegood shouted back. Arthur stood aside as the man walked in and then shut the door behind him. “Quite the storm we're having! Just thought I'd stop by and see if this place was still standing.” “Quite the storm, yes,” Arthur agreed, “I heard the Muggles lost electricity. Fascinating. I wonder what they do without it. But yes, the house is still standing.” “Good, but if you feel it's too rickety, just let me know and I'll go get some of my Jutispy Plants. The leaves do wonders on old buildings. Makes them like new. I just put a bunch into my place and it's a good thing, too. Of course, they tend to attract Nargles...” Xenophilius's voice trailed off. “I'll keep that in mind,” Arthur smiled, “Are you spending the holiday alone?” “Yes, yes,” he replied, “Luna and Rolf are with his family this Christmas.” “Then you must stay here a while. Molly's cooked far too much food, like usual,” Arthur lead Xeno into the kitchen. Albus followed them. He always found Xenophilius Lovegood to be an interesting wizard, if not a little mad. Always going on about Nargles or Nom-Noms or something. Molly was more than happy to provide Xenophilius with a large platter of breakfast and he settled down to discuss the storm with the adults. Albus spent most of the morning playing Exploding Snap, Wizard's Chess, and Gobstones with his cousins. They tried to play hide and go seek, but the house was too crowded to play it properly. Teddy and James kept looking out the window, willing it to stop snowing. Both of them were just itching to go play Quidditch. Albus would have gladly gone and played if it would stop snowing so much. He was dedicated to the game, but not enough to play in this storm. Lunchtime came and the snow was still falling. George went outside to measure it and came back with the news that it was three and a half feet. Teddy went upstairs after lunch and came back decked out in three jumpers, a thick cloak, and a pair of boots. Under one arm was his broom and under the other was a box of Quidditch balls. James was right behind him, dressed the same. “Theodore Remus Lupin!” Molly shouted, “I suppose I can't stop you from going out there and catching death of a cold, but I will not let you drag James with you!” “He's not dragging me, Grandma,” James rolled his eyes, “I want to go!” “Just let them, Molly,” Harry said, “They'll get cold soon enough and come back inside.” “Fine,” Molly replied and went back into the kitchen. “Excellent,” Teddy grinned, “Anyone care to join us?” Georgia, Fred, and Heather suited up in warm clothes and joined Teddy and James. Albus decided against it. Quidditch was fun, but he didn't want to freeze when he could stay inside and be warm. The Christmas Quidditch lasted a half an hour. Teddy, James, Georgia, Heather, and Fred all stumbled back into the house shivering with their faces red and covered in snow and ice. Molly immediately descended upon them with mugs of hot chocolate and dry clothes. “Told you, Molly,” Harry grinned. “C-can't find the Sn-Snitch,” Teddy muttered. Harry laughed. “That doesn't surprise me. You'll find it when the storm calms down. You put the charm on it to stay in the yard, right?” “Y-yeah,” Teddy replied. Christmas dinner came and went in its usual chaos. Xenophilius stayed for it and James snuck sneezing powder into his soup, which he found incredibly funny. Molly was not as impressed and gave James quite the scolding. How she found out it was James was beyond Albus. The storm continued throughout the night and Cedric had to put the silencing charm back on their room in order for any of them to get any sleep. ****** Nobody left the Burrow until two days after Christmas. That was when the snow finally let up. It topped out at around four and a half feet, which was a new record for Albus's lifetime. The Burrow's yard had been decorated by dozens of snow witches and wizards, along with hippogriffs, owls, and a variety of other magical creatures. When Albus found out what his family was doing after they left the Burrow, he wished the snow would have kept coming. They were going shopping for dress robes for the New Year's party. “Why can't I just wear my old dress robes?” James whined as they walked down Diagon Alley towards Madam Malkin's. “Because they're five inches too short,” Ginny replied, “They're even too small for Al.” “Yeah, Hugo's the lucky one,” James muttered. Hugo was wearing James's old dress robes to the party and therefore did not have to go shopping. “Mummy, I want purple robes,” Lily announced. “If they have any,” Ginny replied. Albus wanted to buy the first pair of dress robes he found, so long as they weren't pink or purple. The sooner they were done robes shopping the better. Rose and Lily made a beeline for the girls dress robes as soon as they walked in the door. Albus stood awkwardly next to James while their mother found various robes for them. “Here, try these on, Al,” Ginny handed him a pair of emerald green robes. “Very Slytherin,” James snickered. “Shut it, James,” Albus muttered. “They'll bring out your eyes, Al,” Ginny told him, “Now go try them on.” Albus reluctantly tried on the Slytherin colored robes and then left the dressing room for his mother to see. “Too short,” she announced, “But the color is perfect. I'll find a bigger size.” James wound up with a navy blue pair of robes, which Albus would have preferred. Lily found her purple robes and Rose got a sky blue pair. “Next time you're getting green robes,” Albus muttered to James, who was still making fun of the color of Albus's robes. “No I won't. I don't have green eyes,” James grinned. “Then we'll get you a nice red set,” Ginny said, “They'll clash horribly with your hair.” “I don't care. They'd be Gryffindor colored,” James laughed.
FawkesthePhoenix Joined: 31 December 2006 Posts: 3519 Location: No idea, all I know is that there are a LOT of felt-tipped pens...	Posted: Sunday 31 January 2010 02 29 21 pm    Post subject: Re: Poetry by FawkesthePhoenix in topic:Poetry by FawkesthePhoenix Has it really been more than half a year? It seems like I just posted yesterday. Anyways, here are a few more poems, separated by ***s Comets What if I'm not what you wanted? You worked so hard and now I'm broke What if I'm not what you dreamed of? Lying alone, shattered from one stroke What if I'm not who you thought of? An illusion that's burning the book What if I'm not who you fought for? Huddled alone, battered when I'm shook What if I'm not where you left me? I won't always answer your call What if I'm not on the wavelength? You cannot keep watch on them all What if I'm not what you wanted? I won't always answer your call What if I'm not what you wanted? Comets eternally fall **** How can I say what needs to be said "I haven't the words! Haven't the time!" To say all that I feel I've always walked where you have lead "It wasn't I! Who committed the crime?" It wasn't theft, though they did steal It's like a sparsely furnished room "How do you know? Where have you gone?" It makes me dry my eyes Confusion lurks even in gloom "Why say such things? Pray tell, what's wrong?" What isn't wrong? You'd be surprised. It's not like love, which conquers all “What's not like what? Why are you not clear?” But something less and more It's not like hate, it doesn't call “Are you afraid? What do you fear?” Losing sight of the shore More like indifference, the lack of care “Then why explain? Why all the trouble?” But knowing that I should Result of when, caught unaware “What have you lost, what's left in rubble?” My sight caught in a hood Chaos makes the nicest dance “Would you do it, if given the chance?” I'd like you to think you would **** Idiocy By storm we'll take the world, you said Our lives were intertwined A fortune made within the week Two weeks, in a bind Idiocy! To spin such tales But more that I believed Every spoon-fed, cloying lie I rejoiced! I should have grieved For the palace is made of cardboard, And rats live in the walls I doubt that this is what you meant When you said you'd be king Of all!
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2486 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 20 January 2010 07 50 17 am    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 19: The Unbeatable Seeker "What did Balladanis teach you?" was the first thing Matt asked Albus when he went to see him the following afternoon. Albus had given every little detail about the evening to his other friends once he returned to the dormitory afterwards and they were impressed. John's first reaction had been that perhaps Albus would be able to find out what Balladanis did before he began teaching. "He didn't really teach us anything," Albus explained to Matt, who looked exhausted but was paying rapt attention. "I dueled Malfoy." "Wow," Matt looked impressed, "How was that?" "Neither of us won," Albus sighed, "Balladanis made us stop because we pretty much destroyed his classroom." "I wish I had seen it," John chimed in, "Bet the look on Balladanis's face was priceless." "He just looked impressed. He wasn't angry or anything," Albus told them, "Then he asked us what we wanted to do with our lives." "Like what kind of job you want to get?" Matt raised his eyebrows, "You're only thirteen." "Yeah, I thought it was strange," Albus shrugged, "But he said I should think about doing something that would put my dueling skills to use." "Like an Auror?" Matt asked. "I don't think so. I mentioned that and he kind of made it seem like that wouldn't put my dueling skills to use." "I can't think of any other job that you'd duel more than that," Matt replied. "I have no idea what I want to do with my life," Kaden announced. "Me either," John said, "I say we've got plenty of time to figure it out." "I'll say," Madam Pomfrey stuck her head in between the curtains, "And you certainly do not have to figure it out now. It's time for you lot to leave." Albus, John, and Kaden reluctantly left the hospital wing, lamenting the fact that Madam Pomfrey hadn't let them stay very long. They had no idea why the nurse had shortened visiting time so much, considering that Matt hadn't seemed worse than usual, but they never understood why Madam Pomfrey did most of the things she did. ****** Albus's week could be easily summed up in two words. Quidditch and homework. Normally he would only complain about the latter, but Oliver Wood was like a Muggle drill sergeant when it came to Quidditch. Since the match was on Saturday, Oliver was insisting on daily practices. Albus and the other alternates had to be at every practice because according to Oliver, 'you never know when someone will get sick or hexed right before a match.' In fact, Oliver even wanted them to practice on Friday night, the night before the match. Albus wasn't too happy about this since he had his lesson with Balladanis at eight. That was the same time Quidditch practice let out, so he had to run to the Defense classroom still completely covered in mud from practice. He ran into the classroom ten minutes late, heart pounding with worry about what Balladanis was going to say. "Mr. Potter, you're late," Balladanis said as Albus entered the room. He and Malfoy were sitting at the front desk. "Sorry, sir," Albus said as he joined them, "Quidditch practice." "So I gathered," Balladanis eyed Albus's muddy robes, "I was just telling Mr. Malfoy about the responsibilities that come with learning advanced dueling spells." Balladanis pulled out his wand and pointed it at Albus. Albus's robes were clean and dry and he muttered a thank you to the professor. Malfoy was smirking to himself. "The most important responsibility is that you cannot and I repeat, cannot, use the spells I teach you here in the junior dueling tournament. It would give your team an unfair advantage and you could inadvertently injure your opponent. The spells I teach you are not to be used outside this classroom, unless I instruct you otherwise. "You are not to duel your fellow students in the corridors with these spells. Nor are you to use them against your siblings and cousins," his eyes rested on Albus. "I also feel the need to warn you that these spells are more exhausting than the ones you have been learning. They use a lot of magical energy and do not be surprised if you feel as though you have just run a marathon," he turned to Albus again, "Or played in a very long Quidditch match." Balladanis stood up and gestured for the boys to do the same. Once they did, Balladanis moved the desks aside and stood in between where Albus and Malfoy stood. "I am going to have you work on your shield charms first-" "I already know how to do a shield charm," Malfoy announced. "I am well aware of that, Mr. Malfoy, and I do ask that you not question my teaching style," Balladanis said darkly, "The shield charms you have been using are relatively weak and fade away after only a few spells are cast against them. "With a fair bit of practice and mental concentration, one is able to keep the shield up for long periods of time in order to block multiple spells. Really skilled duelers can even keep the shield up while casting other spells. That is quite useful, as you can imagine. It is also possible to shield a great many people with just one person's shield charm, which is also very useful. Some shield charms can even protect one against magical creature attacks," Balladanis lowered his voice and averted his eyes at this, which Albus thought was odd. "It takes a lot of concentration to maintain hold of a shield charm for so long, which is why the charm can be difficult. I doubt either of you will produce a long term shield charm tonight, so don't be disappointed. Wands out, both of you, and we'll see how long you can hold the charm, without any spells hitting it." Albus held up his wand and muttered the incantation for the shield charm. He had practiced this charm numerous times before, usually with someone else trying to hex him at the same time. It was quite easy to just hold it there and even kind of boring. He and Malfoy just stared at each other and Albus doubted that either of them were going to drop their shields. It would be like admitting defeat to the other. After what must have been at least ten minutes of holding the shield charm, Albus found he was getting tired. His arm ached from holding his wand up and from throwing so many Quaffles at practice earlier. Malfoy had the advantage since he didn't have Quidditch practice. Much to Albus's dismay, he noticed his shield starting to fizzle. He wasn't going to be able to hold it much longer and Malfoy's still looked strong. Balladanis looked at his watch. "Let the shields go," he instructed, "Wands down." Relieved, Albus lowered his weary hand and then sat down in a chair. Balladanis was right when he said advanced shields were exhausting. "Very good," Balladanis said, "Stand up again. Now I'll see how many spells each of your shields can withstand." Albus and Malfoy both put their shields up again and Balladanis sent disarming charms at both of them. Albus could feel his shield faltering after the first charm and didn't think it would last as long as Malfoy's. Albus's shield fizzled out after three charms. Malfoy's dismantled after four. He had the biggest smirk on his face afterwards, but didn't say anything. He probably didn't want to gloat in front of Balladanis. Albus knew he'd hear about it the next time they had a class together, though. If only he hadn't had Quidditch practice! Then Albus would have beaten Malfoy. Or at least tied with him. "That's enough for tonight," Balladanis said as he eyed Albus. Albus had a feeling that he looked absolutely exhausted. "Looks like I'm the better dueler," Malfoy said once they were out of the room. "That's not what it meant," Albus muttered, "We didn't even duel each other. I could beat you in a real duel." "And I could beat both of you," a Slytherin Prefect, who was making his rounds, said as he walked by, "So get to your dormitories." Albus had no idea if he could beat the Prefect or not but he didn't want to stick around to lose house points. Plus, it was a good excuse to stop talking to Malfoy. ****** The excitement that filled the Great Hall the next morning reminded Albus yet again of the previous year's Quidditch finals. Only this wasn't a final. It was the Hogwarts versus Australia match, the first match Hogwarts was going to play in. The Hogwarts team did not sit together at breakfast or lunch. There was considerable argument at practice the previous night about this. Oliver Wood, Tyler Pike, and Teddy all wanted the team to sit together in order to squeeze in last minute strategizing, but nobody could agree on which table to sit at. In the end, Teddy sat with the Gryffindor players at the Gryffindor table, Tyler sat with the Ravenclaw players at the Ravenclaw table, and Oliver walked from table to table giving out last minute advice. Albus thought this worked out fine since Oliver didn't seem to be able to sit still for more than a minute. Albus was kind of relieved that nobody on the Hogwarts team came down with Spattergroit or lost a finger in potions class because he didn't really want to play. He loved Quidditch, but so much was at stake. He wanted to merely watch the first match that Hogwarts participated in. Then, if right before the next match, one of the Chasers came down with a cold and Madam Pomfrey forbid them from playing, Albus would gladly take their place. The excitement only increased as Albus and his friends walked to the pitch. Rose and Amanda were there, although Linda wasn't. Albus thought this was only fitting since Hogwarts was playing against Australia in this match. “Welcome, everyone!” Todd Smith's voice boomed over the crowd, “Hogwarts is playing its first match in the Cup and they are up against Australia! The Hogwarts team is captained by Oliver Wood with help from Ted Lupin and Tyler Pike! “The team is comprised of Georgia Weasley as Keeper; Damien Waverly, Anna Reilly, and Ferris Fielding as Chasers; Andy Kaper and Allie Davis as Beaters; and James Potter as Seeker. “The biggest excitement in this match is whether James Potter will be able to beat Australian Seeker Linda Morales, who shocked everyone with her speed and agility in the last match. Potter, of course, is the son and nephew of legendary Gryffindor Seekers Harry Potter and Charlie Weasley. He is also being coached by Gryffindor's other legendary Seeker, Ted Lupin, and is on his way towards becoming another legend in the house of Gryffindor.” “Not being very modest about James, is he?” Rose muttered to Albus. “No, not really,” Albus replied, happy that he wasn't in James's position. “The captains shake hands,” Smith continues, “And they're off!” All fourteen players, half in emerald green Australian robes and half in black Hogwarts ones, rose into the air. Whoever decided on the colors must not have been thinking about visibility. If it was a rainy, snowy, or foggy day, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two colors. The match was fast-paced like the first one had been. All of the Hogwarts players were superb and as far as Albus could tell, equally matched against Australia. The teams were tied fifteen minutes into the match, each with 120 points. The Quaffle exchanged hands so often that Albus had a hard time keeping up. Rose had already given up and was talking to Amanda about something. Matt, John, and Kaden were all trying to keep up with the match. It happened so fast that if Albus had blinked, he would have missed the whole thing. Linda had been hovering above the Hogwarts goal posts and then she shot down towards the ground, pulling out of her dive with the golden Snitch in her grasp. James had been next to her and was a few metres above her when she caught it. Just like that, in a matter of seconds, the match was over. “Linda Morales has captured the Snitch, which means Australia wins 270-120,” Smith announced less than enthusiastically. “She caught it?” John gaped, “But she was above the goal posts two seconds ago!” “No one can fly that fast!” Albus agreed. “It can't be over!” Matt exclaimed, “It just started twenty minutes ago!” Everyone around Albus was talking about how fast Linda flew to the Snitch. Albus and his friends descended onto the pitch and Albus quickly lost them in the sea of people. He pushed his way through the crowd until he found his team. “They've got to be cheating!” Andy Kaper shouted to Teddy, “They've rigged her broom or something!” “All the brooms were fully checked before the match,” Teddy reminded him. “Well, check it again!” Andy exclaimed, “There's a speed charm on that thing, I guarantee it.” “We'll have it checked again,” Wood assured him. “I want a rematch,” Georgia muttered, “They've got to be cheating. Even a Firebolt 2000 can't fly that fast.” “We're only going to get a rematch if there is something wrong with that broom,” Wood sighed. “I want an unofficial flying competition between her and James,” Damien Waverly said, “There's no way she's a better flyer than he is.” James was the only one not talking. He appeared to be in shock. The entire team was shouting around him, but he didn't seem to hear any of it. “James?” Albus asked tentatively. James jumped and looked at Albus without saying a word. Then he trudged off to the changing room. No one else noticed that he left. No one had noticed Albus show up either, so he joined the crowd of people going back up to the castle. He figured it would be easier to talk to the James once he returned to the common room. The common room was ominously silent when Albus walked through the portrait hole. Most people were sitting, staring into space, and not talking to anyone. It was a scene more fitting to someone just dying than a lost Quidditch match. None of the Australians who had been sorted into Gryffindor, including Linda, were there. Albus briefly wondered where they were going to go, now that they'd probably be chased out of every common room. Albus's friends were sitting at their usual table and Albus joined them. Rose and Amanda were whispering to each other, but John and Matt were silent. Kaden was rifling through a stack of chocolate frog cards. The match had been the definition of anti-climactic. Hogwarts had spent weeks preparing for it, working every day well past when the sun set. Homework had been ignored and studying put off. All so Hogwarts could beat Australia. Then, Linda Morales had caught the Snitch twenty minutes into the match. Linda Morales, the only one who had managed to best James Potter at Quidditch. “You know,” Kaden set down his cards, “If James and Linda had a kid, he or she would be the best Seeker in the world.” Nobody responded. Albus thought it would be more likely to become best friends with a chimaera than James and Linda to get married and have a kid. Not to mention the fact that vampires couldn't bear children. Kaden probably didn't know that, though. “I just don't get it,” John mumbled, “She must've cheated.” “You just don't want to admit that Hogwarts might not have the best Quidditch players in the world,” Rose muttered. “Let's go to the Marauder's Den,” Matt whispered as he stood up. Albus didn't know why Matt wanted to go there, but considering how depressingly quiet the common room was, he wasn't about to object. They passed no one except an Auror on their way to the room. Everyone must have been lamenting the Quidditch loss in their common rooms. “Finally,” Kaden said as he collapsed onto one of the couches in the room, “Now we can actually talk. The common room is depressing.” “What do you expect?” John groaned, “We lost our first mach. We're in last place.” “No, we're not,” Rose said, “New York lost to Australia with only 40 points. They're in last place.” “Doesn't matter,” John shook his head, “We still lost.” “No one's ever going to beat Australia,” Albus sighed. “You're probably right,” Matt said darkly, “Remember the last match? How quickly she caught the Snitch? I knew she'd be fast, but I thought maybe she'd slow down to even things up a bit. This match proves that wrong. She's using the fact that she's a vampire to her advantage.” “That's completely unfair!” John shouted, “Why would Kendrick let her do that?” “He obviously doesn't know,” Rose sighed. “So, she is cheating,” Albus said. “Technically, she's not,” Matt replied, “She's just really skilled at Quidditch. Vampires, and werewolves, have really keen eyesight in order to,” he paused, “Catch prey. She's better at seeing a Snitch than any human.” “Then why don't you play Seeker against her!” Kaden exclaimed, grinning at the idea, “That would be more fair.” Matt burst out laughing. “You didn't see me at flying lessons in first year. I'm an awful flyer. Sure, I could see the Snitch, but I'd fall off my broom trying to catch it.” “Oh,” Kaden deflated. “Plus she's super fast,” John pointed out, “And Matt's not. No offense or anything.” “None taken,” Matt said. “So, what are we going to do about this?” Albus asked, “If she doesn't stop, Australia's going to win this competition.” “I think Rose should talk to her,” John suggested. “Why?” Rose asked. “Because she likes you and you like her,” John said, “Just tell her to fly a little slower.” “Yeah, right,” Rose rolled her eyes, “Believe it or not, she's about as fanatical about Quidditch as you lot are. No way is she going to agree to that.” “It's true,” Amanda agreed. The room descended into silence. The only other thing Albus could think of to do would be to tell Kendrick that Linda was a vampire. That would get her off the Australian Quidditch team for sure. However, Albus didn't really want to do that. Rose would hex him to next century and she'd probably never speak to him again. It would be a lot like if Rose told someone Matt was a werewolf and if that happened, Albus would have the same reaction. Not that Rose would ever do that. They stayed in the Marauder's Den until dinner. Dinner was much more subdued than normal and James never made an appearance. Linda was sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table with only fellow Australians near her. That kind of surprised Albus since he had never once seen her interact with anyone besides Rose and Amanda. “Albus,” someone put their hand on Albus's shoulder. Albus turned around and saw his dad, wearing the same forlorn look all the students were wearing. “Dad,” he said, “Were you at the match?” “Yeah, I was sitting with Lily,” Harry nodded, “Have you seen James?” “Haven't seen him since right after the match. He went into the changing rooms. Actually, I haven't seen Teddy either. Maybe he's with James.” “Merlin, I hope so,” Harry ran a hand through his hair, “I've checked everywhere I can think of. Makes me wish I hadn't given him the map.” “You can use mine,” Albus suggested, “But I want to go with you.” “All right,” Harry said, “Let's go.” Albus said goodbye to his friends and walked up to Gryffindor Tower with his dad. He ran up to his dormitory once he was there and retrieved the map. The dormitory was empty, so Albus and his dad looked at it there. They scoured the Hogwarts section of the map for nearly five minutes before coming to the conclusion that James was no longer in the school. “Bloody hell,” Harry muttered, “Where did he go?” Albus pressed the number two in the corner of the map with his wand and the map of Hogsmeade appeared. This one was a bit more difficult to search than the Hogwarts one had been. Most of the Hogwarts students had been in the Great Hall. Everyone was spread out in Hogsmeade. Two dots made Albus freeze. Two dots were in the Shrieking Shack. A closer look told him they were Teddy and James. Albus gasped. Why were they there? How did they get in for that matter? “Dad,” Albus pointed to the Shrieking Shack. “The Shrieking Shack?” Harry shouted and stood up. Albus followed him out of the dormitory and then out of the common room. “How'd they get in?” Albus asked once they were walking through the corridors. “Teddy knows the counter-charm for those wards,” Harry muttered. “Why?” “Everyone who goes through Auror training learns a very large variety of counter-charms. One of them was bound to work on that tree. Now, he wasn't supposed to use them outside of training, so I really have no clue what he was thinking,” Harry explained It had gotten cold and windy outside since the match, which really made Albus wonder why Teddy and James would go to the Shrieking Shack of all places. The decrepit old building had no heat, for Merlin's sake. Albus dodged a branch from the Whomping Willow as they neared it. Harry aimed his wand at the bottom and muttered the counter-charm. Then he froze the tree. Albus hurried after him into the passageway. The walk to the Shrieking Shack was brisk and silent. Albus, who had been on the receiving end of many a lecture from his dad, knew that both Teddy and James were going to get one once they made it to the Shack. Harry carefully opened the door and walked into the quiet old building. Hushed voices could be heard from the back room. Albus followed his dad back there. Teddy and James were both sitting on the floor. James looked a complete mess, still wearing his muddy Quidditch robes and his face was all blotchy. Teddy didn't look much better, although his robes were a bit cleaner. “Teddy. James,” Harry said sternly when he entered, “What in the name of Merlin's pants are you doing in this place?” Both boys snapped their heads up at the sound of Harry's voice. “Trying to convince James not to make the biggest mistake of his life,” Teddy muttered. “That sounds a bit overdramatic,” Harry said. “He wants to quit the Quidditch team,” Teddy said dryly. “That is the most idiotic thing I've heard,” Albus shouted, “You can't do that!” “Albus,” Harry warned. Albus shut his mouth, but he still thought the very idea of James quitting the team was mental. They'd have no hope of ever beating New York, let alone Australia, without James. “Twenty minutes, Dad,” James said in barely more than a whisper, “Twenty minutes.” “We've all had our bad matches,” Harry said quietly as he sat down next to James, “I fell off my broom in my third year and lost a match.” “Because of the dementors,” James muttered, “There weren't any dementors at this match.” “James, I'm afraid everyone has made you out to be the unbeatable Seeker. Todd's commentary today proved that. The stakes are set so high with you that when you do lose a match, it completely shocks everyone. It's kind of unfair, actually, because nobody can win every match,” Harry replied, “You're not the unbeatable Seeker, I'm afraid. And running away will get you nowhere.” “I suppose,” James sighed. “You're playing New York next,” Harry reminded him, “They lost to Australia sooner than we did. I think you have a chance at catching the Snitch then.” “I guess,” James replied. “So you won't quit?” Albus asked, unable to keep quiet any longer. “No,” James said. “Good. Because Lisa Galivant is nowhere near as good as you. You're the best Seeker Hogwarts has got,” Albus told him. “Thanks, Al,” James gave him a half-smile, “Too bad Australia's got a better one.” Albus nodded, wishing that he could just tell James why Linda was so good. But he had sort of promised Rose he wouldn't.
Phoenix in the Ashes Joined: 23 January 2005 Posts: 5294 Location: Wandering around the RPG Area	Posted: Wednesday 13 January 2010 06 18 55 pm    Post subject: Re: Lost: Season Six in topic:Lost: Season Six Gosh people, get up to date so you can watch the final season extravaganza! I've heard that although in the past we've traditionally aired the shows a few weeks after they screen in the States, we'll be getting them only a few days after this season. Which means people won't have to download as I know many of my Lost-loving friends do.
Phoenix in the Ashes Joined: 23 January 2005 Posts: 5294 Location: Wandering around the RPG Area	Posted: Saturday 9 January 2010 06 13 58 pm    Post subject: Re: Lost: Season Six in topic:Lost: Season Six Ohh Paul, you have to watch it the whole way! I get goosebumps in anticipation of this final season. Because of the writers' strike Season 4 was cut quite short, so that might be why you thought it was the 5th. Seasons 4 and 5 are the best in my opinion, just truly amazing television. It's a pity so many people left after Season 2... if they'd stayed until 4, they'd have been hooked again.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2486 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 6 January 2010 12 34 28 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 17: The Anamatek In all the excitement of the possible sighting of Washburn in Hogsmeade, Albus nearly forgot about talking to Rose that evening. He was sitting in the common room trying to read his Defense Against the Dark Arts book when John prodded him. "What?" Albus looked up at John. "Linda just went to Quidditch practice," John gestured to the portrait hole, which just closed behind someone, "We can talk to Rose now." Albus nodded and closed his book. He had to admit that he was a bit nervous about telling Rose that Linda was a vampire. He had a feeling she wouldn't take it well. They were going to have to break this to her very nicely. It wasn't that Albus was worried that Rose would be upset that Linda was a vampire. Albus knew that wouldn't bother her in the slightest. It was the fact that Albus was the one who figured it out that he was worried about. Albus fully expected Rose to deny that Linda was a vampire for the sole reason that she hadn't figured it out herself. "I guess we'd better," Albus said as he got up. He glanced around the common room and his eyes rested on the table Rose and Amanda were sitting at. Albus walked over to her table with Matt, John, and Kaden following. The two girls looked to be working on homework. "Rose," Albus sat down next to her, "We need to talk to you about something." Rose put down her quill and looked up. "Is it about Washburn? If you're worried about him coming back, don't be. He can't get into the castle." "It's not about him," Albus sighed, although he had a feeling Washburn could get into the castle if he wanted. "Then what?" Rose said shortly. "It's about Linda-" "Then I don't want to hear it," Rose interrupted. "Rose, it's important," Albus insisted, "Just come talk to us." "No," Rose said a bit louder, "I know you lot don't like her, but I do. And I don't need you telling me who I can and can't be friends with." "That's not what we're going to tell you," Albus groaned, "There's just something about her you should know." "Just talk to them, Rose," Amanda said, "To be honest, I'm sick of you ignoring them." Rose looked a bit taken aback. "All right, fine." She shoved her books into her bag a bit harder than necessary and stood up. Albus said nothing but lead everyone out of the common room. Nobody said a word until they were in the Marauder's Den. Rose sat in one of the chairs and folded her arms across her chest. "What?" she asked, "What do you possibly have to tell me?" Albus glanced at Matt, who nodded. Albus took a deep breath. "Linda is a vampire," he said quietly. Rose's mouth fell open and then she burst out laughing. "Are you bloody insane? How in the name of Merlin did you possibly come up with that stupid idea?" Albus groaned. "It's not a stupid idea. It's true. And Matt told us." Rose rolled her eyes and glared at Matt. "Of course. You're the one who hates Linda the most." "Rose, it's true!" Matt insisted, "Do you honestly think that I would just randomly claim someone was a vampire? For all the differences between vampires and werewolves, they both get discriminated against." "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you want me to stop being friends with her?" Rose shouted. "Well, that would be stupid of me because I know you wouldn't stop being friends with her because of that," Matt said quietly, "After all, you're friends with me. Or at least you used to be." "I still am," Rose whispered. Albus smiled to himself. That was promising. Maybe their friendship wasn't totally destroyed. "But don't you lot think that if Linda was a vampire, I would have figured it out?" Rose asked, "I mean, I was the only one to figure out that Matt's a werewolf." "How much do you know about vampires, Rose?" Albus asked. "Er, not much, I guess," Rose said sheepishly, "But still, how do you know?" Albus opened his bag and pulled out his Defense book. He tossed it at Rose. "Read the bit about vampires." Rose caught the book and opened it up. She began to read it with Amanda reading over her shoulder. A few minutes later, Rose set the book down. Her face was pale. "You're right," she whispered and then turned to Matt, "Is that why you don't like her?" "Sort of," Matt shrugged, "It's not the fact that she's a vampire. It's the fact that she knows I'm a werewolf." "Oh," Rose nodded, "And she's from Australia and Killigan doesn't like werewolves. I get it. But, wait, how come Killigan lets Linda go to school but he wouldn't let you?" "No idea," Matt sighed, "It's a mystery." The room descended into an awkward silence and Albus looked at all of his friends. Rose still looked a little shocked and Amanda did as well. "So," Albus began, "Are you going to keep ignoring us, Rose?" "Are you going to let Linda come in here?" Rose asked. "No way," Albus, Matt, John, and Kaden said at once. Rose sighed. "Fine. I've missed you lot, but I am still going to spend time with Linda. I guess I'll just split my time, then." Albus grinned. "Good. But next Hogsmeade trip, you're coming with us." ****** Over the next couple of weeks, Rose and Amanda began spending more and more time with Albus and the other boys. Albus was thrilled about it, especially since after a few days passed, it was like Rose and Matt hadn't rowed at all. Nobody ever brought up the topic of Linda, though. Rose and Amanda both spent time with Linda, usually in the library, but Albus didn't particularly mind. He kind of liked having time to spend just with Matt, John, and Kaden. John and Kaden found it increasingly difficult to pull pranks due to the fact that Hogwarts was being patrolled by more Aurors since the Washburn sighting. Teachers, prefects, and the head boy and girl were also patrolling more often than they used to. Albus was secretly happy about this since he had an increasing fear of Washburn breaking into his dormitory to steal the Invisibility Cloak. John and Kaden, on the other hand, came back to the common room ranting about how they couldn't pull off some prank or the other due to an Auror or prefect finding them. Matt didn't seem to have an opinion on the subject and Albus suspected he would be happy so long as Killigan stayed away from him. The next Quidditch match was in the beginning of December, and although that was still a month away, Wood increased practice to three days a week instead of two. Wood was especially tough on James since the next match would be between Hogwarts and Australia. Wood was determined to beat Australia and that meant James would have to try and fly faster than Linda. Teddy was working with him one on one during all the practices. The next junior dueling tournament was coming up as well and Albus was determined to actually duel during this one. He didn't care if both his legs were broken, he would still go. Between his various practices and classes, Albus didn't have much time for anything else. All his teachers were increasing the work load, especially Balladanis. He started packing more and more into each lesson and had begun assigning weekly essays. And since all the lessons were practical, Albus had to read the book to do the essays. There were no notes from class to use. Albus and the rest of the students no longer bothered taking their books and parchment out at the beginning of class. In fact, the majority of Albus's class didn't even bother sitting down. Albus wondered why Balladanis even bothered to put the desks back at the end of class, since he had yet to hear of any of the years having an actual lecture in that class. Due to this, Albus was completely shocked when Balladanis told the class to sit down at the beginning of Defense in the beginning of November. Albus turned to Matt and John, who looked equally surprised. Balladanis, on the other hand, was acting like this was perfectly normal. Albus sat down in between Matt and John amongst the whispering of the rest of the class. Balladanis stood in front of his desk and looked out at the students. There was a large trunk in front of him which reminded Albus of the first day of class. But why would Balladanis bring a Boggart back to class? Matt told Albus that Balladanis wasn't even using Boggarts in his help sessions anymore. "Today's lesson will be part lecture," Balladanis announced, "The reason for this being that the particular creature we are studying today is not in your text book." The class erupted in more whispering and Albus distinctly heard Rose gasp. "Settle down," Balladanis said, "The creature is not in your book because it is extremely rare and most wizards will go their entire lives without ever encountering one. Because of this, it is not normally in a third year curriculum. The creature is usually studied in advanced N.E.W.T. Defense Against the Dark Arts only. I however, believe this creature is extremely beneficial to third year defense and am adding it in, despite the fact that it is not in your book." Albus was on the edge of his seat now. He was staring directly at the trunk in front of Balladanis, where the creature probably resided. It couldn't be that dangerous, could it? Otherwise, Balladanis wouldn't have brought one. Although, there wasn't much that Balladanis could do that would actually surprise Albus. He was a very odd teacher. "The creature I am talking about is an anamatek," Balladanis said as he began pacing back and forth in front of the trunk. He stopped in front of Rose, Amanda, and Linda's table. "Does anyone know what an anamatek is?" Albus had never heard of one in his life. Rose didn't put her hand up either. The only hand in the class that went up was Linda's. "Yes, Miss Morales," Balladanis said. "An anamatek is a shape-shifter, but it is different from a boggart. anamateks are forced to change into whatever form the wizard controlling them wants," Linda explained. "Correct," Balladanis began pacing again, "anamateks are very strong and powerful creatures. It takes a very strong and powerful witch or wizard to control them. Not many are able to do so. But if a witch or wizard can, the anamatek must transform into whatever form the wizard wants. "This of course is very dangerous if a dark wizard gets hold of one. Can you imagine if Voldemort had been able to control a few anamateks and had them transform into chimaeras?" The entire room was silent. Albus shivered at the thought of an army of chimaeras, especially in the hands of Voldemort. "Luckily for us, anamateks are extremely rare and the majority of wizards can't control one, let alone an army of them. The few anamateks that exist in the world reside in warm climates and they prefer to stay hidden amongst trees or bushes. Anamateks are rarely sighted in Britain and I would guess that there aren't more than four or five in the entire country. They are a bit more common in warmer climates such as the Southwestern United States, Latin America, South America, Africa, and Australia. However, you could search all of these countries extensively and never come across one. "Anamateks do not like wizards because they do not want to be controlled. Not only can wizards control what the anamatek turns into, they can also make it do whatever they please. When they are not controlled, they can turn into whatever they like and usually choose a particularly dangerous creature in order to dissuade wizards from capturing them. They cannot, however, turn into humans, for the most part. There are exceptions to that. Certain powerful witches and wizards have had success turning them into humans, but they do not act like humans. No anamatek can turn into a human on its own." Balladanis paused and stopped next to his trunk. "I have captured an anamatek. I captured it many years ago and it has been under my control ever since. Having an anamatek at my disposal provides a great learning opportunity for all of you. Can anyone guess why?" Rose's hand shot into the air. "Yes, Miss Weasley," Balladanis said. "You can have it turn into whatever we're studying and we can learn to fight it instead of having to fight a real one. That way, you can control what its doing and none of us will get hurt," Rose answered. "Correct," Balladanis said, "Before class, I performed a spell which caused the anamatek to turn into a kappa, which I hope you are all aware that we are currently studying. When I say so, get up and form a line in front of my desk. You will be performing the spell you learned last class to try and repel the anamatek, which is going to look and act exactly like a kappa." "Sir?" Malfoy raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" "Sir, are you going to tell us the spell to bring an anamatek under a wizard's control?" "No, Mr. Malfoy, I am not," Balladanis said darkly, "First, it's not just one spell, it is a set of extremely difficult spells, beyond N.E.W.T. level. Second, there is much debate as to whether the spells are Dark Magic or not. Third, it would be pointless since none of you would have the capability of performing such magic and will likely never have the opportunity to perform it. Fourth, the headmaster would not be happy if I did so. I will also not sign any notes to admit any of you into the Restricted Section of the library to research the spells." Malfoy scowled at this and Albus stifled a laugh. It didn't surprise him in the slightest that Malfoy would want to learn the spells. Albus was extremely curious as to how Balladanis managed to perform them, and how he had come across the anamatek in the first place. Albus doubted that he would tell that story, though. Balladanis never talked about his past. "Everyone get up!" Balladanis shouted. Albus hastily stood up and watched as the rest of the class did the same. Rose and Linda shoved their notes into their bags, but nobody else had bothered to take notes. The thought hadn't even crossed Albus's mind. He was so used to not taking notes in Defense. Balladanis moved the tables to the sides of the room and Albus joined the queue forming in front of the trunk. He stood on his tip-toes and peered around John to try and catch a glimpse of the anamatek when it emerged from the trunk. Balladanis pointed his wand at the trunk and it shot open. Nothing happened for a few seconds and then a slimy, scaly kappa crept up over the top of the trunk and climbed out. It stretched out its webbed hand and started towards Janie Creevey, who was first in the line. Janie held up her wand and muttered the spell. The kappa was shot back towards the trunk and Balladanis nodded at Janie. She stepped to the side and Karina walked forward as the kappa recovered. The queue moved forward and Albus was able to get a good look at the anamatek. It looked exactly like a kappa. If Albus didn't know any better, he would say that it was a real kappa. Balladanis made everyone perform the spell until they could do it successfully. Rose and Linda got it on their first tries, but Amanda had a bit of trouble. Albus had a feeling she would be working with the anamatek in her next extra help session. John managed to have success on his first try and he stepped to the side and Albus stepped forward. The anamatek crept towards Albus, who held up his wand. Kappas didn't really scare him in the slightest, yet his heart had begun pounding faster. The anamatek is what scared him a bit. The thing had the potential to change into something dangerous like a chimaera at any moment. How much control did Balladanis really have over the thing? Albus shouted the spell and the anamatek was thrown back against the trunk and landed with a loud crack. "Very good, Mr. Potter," Balladanis smiled ever so slightly, "A few of the rest of you might wish to take note of the force Mr. Potter put behind his spell. A determined kappa would have been able to recover very quickly from most of your spells. Mr. Potter, on the other hand, would have been able to escape if this had been a real kappa." Matt's turn was next and Albus stood next to John to watch him. The kappa was only slightly deterred by Matt's first spell and he had to try about three times to get it to work. "Now I know what Balladanis is going to have me do tomorrow night," Matt whispered to Albus as they watched Malfoy take on the kappa. Malfoy sent the kappa slamming into the trunk with almost as much force as Albus had, earning him a slight smile from Balladanis as well. "Where in the name of Merlin did Balladanis get that thing?" John exclaimed after they'd left the classroom. "No idea," Albus shrugged, "But I wish he'd tell us." "He won't," Matt sighed. "I know, but I still want to know," John said, "And what did he do for a living before this? I mean, I don't think teachers normally come upon anamateks." "Probably not. I don't think my dad has ever seen one and he's an Auror," Albus pointed out. "They are extremely rare in Britain," Rose ran up next to Albus, "I bet Balladanis lived in some other country before he started teaching here. Africa or Australia or one of those places where anamateks are more common." "Yeah, but they're not exactly common in those places either. My dad hasn't seen one either and he worked with magical creatures in Australia for years," Matt said. "I'm surprised Kendrick lets him have that thing in the school," Amanda said. "I doubt Kendrick knows about it," Albus replied. If Kendrick hadn't known about the anamatek before, he most likely did by the end of the day. The entire school was buzzing about it. Apparently Balladanis had not only shown it to his third years, but second and fourth through seventh years as well. The common room was filled with chatter about it after dinner, as well as extremely jealous first years. Lily, Hugo, and Ashtyn whined about not being able to see it. "Are you ready for Quidditch practice, Al?" Georgia said to Albus as Lily and her friends left. Albus looked up. Georgia's face was white and she looked more than a little scared. Albus stared at her curiously. "Yeah. But, Georgia, are you ok?" "I'll be fine," she assured him, "Balladanis had that anamatek thing turn into a dementor during class right before dinner. We spent the entire class trying to cast Patronuses against it. Let me tell you, that anamatek was just like a dementor." Georgia closed her eyes and shuddered. "You should have some chocolate," Albus told her and pulled a chocolate frog out of his bag. He tossed it to her. Georgia caught it and ripped it open. "Thanks. Let's go find James." Albus said goodbye to his friends and went to go find James with Georgia. He felt a bit unsettled that Balladanis had used the anamatek as a dementor. Having it turn into a kappa was one thing, but a dementor? They were really dangerous. As far as Albus knew, the Patronus charm wasn't actually practiced on dementors until Auror training. Part of Albus hoped that Kendrick would ban the anamatek from the school before he started learning the Patronus charm in seventh year.
Ms. Elsewhere Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 864 Location: In role play game of course!	Posted: Monday 21 December 2009 08 18 14 am    Post subject: Re: The Shadow in topic:The Shadow Jon woke up with a start. He was laying face down in a very, very bright room. He groaned and rolled over; the floor was made of cold tile, and something was wet on his shoulder. He layed there, one arm shielding his eyes, the other reaching over to his shoulder. He had cut himself, and there was a bit of blood there. On the arm he was using to shielf his face, he noticed his watch, so he looked at the time and saw that only ten minutes had passed since he had set the time. He sat up, panicing as the words from his mother's note rang in his ears. "Keep the right time..." he muttered out loud. He had to have been out longer than that. He looked around, desperate for a clock. Then his whole body weakened with a sickening, sinking feeling. Where was he? He had absolutely no idea.
Ms. Elsewhere Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 864 Location: In role play game of course!	Posted: Friday 18 December 2009 10 18 37 pm    Post subject: Re: The Shadow in topic:The Shadow Jon followed Jeffery into the vault and took a sudden breath when he saw the number of drawers stacked to the very high ceiling. There was a library ladder so that people could go up to the boxes and collect the contents. As Jon entered the room, he noticed another room to the left that had a table in it and a rubbish bin. "That's where people can view their items in privacy." Jeffery said, as if reading Jon's mind. Jeffery looked at Jon's key again and then grabbed a remote from the bottom of the ladder and pressed a green, flashing button. The ladder moved ahead of them, and the two followed. "Thrity four... thirty five... yet.. here it is. Three hundred and thirty eight." Jeffery climbed the ladder, opened the box and pulled out a metal container. He slotted the container into a compartment on the side of the ladder and then pressed a button on the side of the compartment. Like a mini elevator, it descended down the side of the ladder. Jon looked at the box and waited for Jeffery to come down. Jeffery released the box from the ladder and walked back with Jeffery to the private room. "Here you go." he said, and ushered Jon in. Jon was about to go in, when something occurred to him. There were thousands of boxes in this room.. and he was the only one getting out a box today? There were at least 30 million people in this city. Jon turned around slowly to Jeffery, who was still holding the box. "Erm. It's a slow day today, huh?" Jon mused. Jeffery paused for a moment before speaking. "I...guess. " he shrugged. Jon noticed that Jeffery's cheeks and ears were going red. "Fair enough. Can't be a big business day every day." Jon said, and reached out for the box. Jeffery hesitated again, and then handed him the box. "Thank you. You can close the door now." and he turned his back on Jeffery. There was a gust as Jeffery closed the door firmly behind him, and Jon reached up and locked the door from the inside. He layed the metal box onto the table with a bang and undid the clip. Jon was presented with a card that said "Read me, Jon." in bright blue writing. The rest was covered with a white towel. He opened the card before going further. It read; "If I am correct, you should be super human matured by now, and your power is similar to mine. Each generation inherits the gift more and more strongly. I could control the elements with my mind, but only in their raw form. I expect that if your power has grown, you should be able to control the elements wherever they are at work. This means that water, fire, wind and earth are at your advantage. You must know that you have been followed; the Light were relentless when you were a child and they are probably the same now. I hope this does not find you too late, and that the world has not fallen to one side or the other. Within this box are three items; money, a watch, and a passport. The passport has already been identified to you as it only required genetic identification. The watch must be worn at all times and the correct time must be kept. There is enough money there and a card too to keep you financed as you travel. I wish I was there with you, but I know you can do this. May you find others like yourself and stay safe and protected. Remember, keep the correct time, always. Love, from your Mother." Jon pulled the towel aside an saw a wad of money with a bank card attached to it. Next to that was the watch in a case, he could hear it ticking. He pulled the watch out of the case and shook it, then lifted it to his ear. It was still going strong, after 16 years. It even kept the right time. It as an old fashioned wind up watch, and he wondered for a moment, how on earth it was able to keep going if this box had not been opened in so long. Jon put the watch on, put the wad of cash into his bag, and placed the bank card and passport into his wallet. Pulling out his new jacket his father had given him, he put it on and lifted the strap of his bag over his shoulder so it sat securely. Looking around, he plotted his escape. Jon crept over to the door and unlocked it, opened it, and peered outside. Jeffery was still there. "Let's go." he said to Jeffery, who turned suddenly. Jeffery led him silently through the vault door, to the outside room and to the cooridor leading back to the bank. Jon scanned the area, until he finally noticed them. A Light agent was sitting at the skinny man's desk, and he stood up as Jon approached. Jon stopped in spite of himself. Jeffery ran to the side of the coridor and ducked as the agent pulled out what looked like a gun. He fired it and a white light surged from it, creating a magnetic pulse down the cooridor, shattering the glass in the frames that lined it. Jon hit the deck, glass spraying over his back. What was he going to do now?
FortisUmbra Joined: 18 August 2009 Posts: 216	Posted: Friday 18 December 2009 07 04 34 pm    Post subject: Re: The Shadow in topic:The Shadow Mathew looked around at the outside of the bank and watched John go in. Roger tapped his shoulder and pointed to a discrete black car that pulled into the parking lot shortly after John did. Mathew noticed small and subtle hint that indicated that this car belonged to the light. They needed to act fast. Whispering slightly Mathew said “You do what you can to slow them but be subtle we still need more time don’t use your power until the last minute. I’ll go in and watch him. Be careful ill come get you when I have him.” Roger nodded and head slightly to the left of the car. Mathew fallowed the boy into the bank and watched as he was taken down a corridor by an elderly man. Mathew sat down and very discreetly made a portal directly in front of his eye that allowed his to watch what was happening in the hall that John had just gone down. Mathew watched as John’s blood was accepted and they went through a door. Mathew then created another portal that allowed him to continue watching the boy. Mathew quickly made a portal that allowed him to check on Roger but there was no need. What ever he was doing he was doing it well, for the agents where talking to him but kept looking at the bank impatiently.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2486 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Tuesday 15 December 2009 05 23 46 pm    Post subject: Dear Iris in topic:Dear Iris This is the second story I wrote for my Fiction Workshop class this semester. It's a companion piece to Bringing the Magic Back. Let me know what you think! Dear Iris, My brother and I had always been different. The differences went farther than the fact that he was blonde and I was a redhead, and that he was short and on the chubby side while I was tall and lean. No, the differences went deep, to the very core of our beings. I was what one would call a go-getter, striving to get ahead in school, whereas he did the bare minimum to get by in school and life in general. When I was little, I would often ask our parents why this was, why we were so different. They said it was genetics: that genetics were how a girl could have red hair while her little brother was blonde. When I took biology in seventh grade, I finally understood. Even our parents knew we were drastically different. “Jimmy just doesn't have the drive you do, Helen,” Mom always said. Maybe that was partially why everything turned out the way it did. Maybe the reason Jimmy's life ended so tragically was because our parents never pushed him the way they did me. Sure, they tried, but they realized that it wasn't working and focused all their attention on me. How much of it could be attributed to genetics? How much of it could be attributed to how my parents raised us? Those questions went through my head day after day, week after week, year after year. Would things have been different if our parents had assumed he would go to college and make something of himself like they always did with me? ****** I went away to college and became a successful lawyer, an occupation that so many parents dream their children will become, leaving Jimmy behind to struggle with basic algebra in high school. I met your Uncle Tom during a trial, I the defense attorney, he the prosecutor. Tom and I began to date as soon as that trial was over and married two years later. While I was happily living my fairy tale life, your father had begun to date a girl whom even our own mother called a bitch, and Mom never swore. He was head over heels for that girl and she thought of him as just another chapter in the book of her life. Then you were born. You were the conflict in the book of that girl's life, a conflict she solved by packing her bags and taking off for who knows where. Jimmy tried his best and you adored him. You were the highlight of his life; that was obvious to anyone who met the two of you. You overlooked the fact that you ate Spaghetti-Os for dinner more often than not, and the fact that your father often had to leave you home alone after school because he had to pull an extra shift to make the mortgage payment. These weren't things I could overlook, and while I was half-tempted to call child protective services most of the time, I knew it would kill my brother. Instead, I took it upon myself to watch you when he was at work, to make sure you ate healthy, and saw the doctor once a year. It was the least I could do. I had looked the other way when my parents didn't push my brother to reach his potential and I couldn't do that again with you. ****** It was I who found Jimmy on that fateful day. I still don't know what possessed me to drive over to the house at 2:30 on a Thursday afternoon, but I thank God every day that I did. A half hour later and you would have come home from school to find him lying in a pool of his own blood with a gun next to him. The rest of the day was a blur, for lack of a better term: Calling 911 even though I already knew he was gone, driving like a crazy person to the school so I could pick you up before you got on the bus, calling Tom, and then taking you to my house. All of that had been easy compared to having to tell you that your father, the man you idolized, had killed himself. You surprised me with how quickly you accepted that the depression was to blame, that it wasn't your fault that his life had been so miserable. This was quite the opposite of me. I was trying to suppress my anger for your sake because I could not believe how selfish my brother had been, taking his own life and leaving you. Of course we took you in. A few years prior Jimmy had drawn up his will, and it stated that we were to get custody of you if anything were to happen to him. We thought you would fit seamlessly into our lives, considering how much time you already spent at our house, but we were wrong. Gone was the talkative girl who would play video games with Alex and his friends and then complain to me that they weren't sharing. You spent all your time in your room doing who knows what. I was shocked the day I came home to find that you'd cut and dyed your hair black, which contrasted with your pale face. Tom and the school suggested therapy, something that had never even crossed my mind. Perhaps I was too caught up in my own grief to really notice how much you were suffering, or maybe I just didn't want to see it. Whatever the reason, I took them up on the suggestion and took you to the best psychiatrist I knew of. Finding out that you had depression was like getting salt rubbed in a wound. You reminded me of Jimmy and that scared me. I was relieved when Dr. Liecht prescribed anti-depressants and made sure you took them every day despite your objections. They didn't seem to help much, but for all I knew they kept you from getting worse. After all, my knowledge of psychology was limited to the introductory course I took in college with a professor whose voice could put someone to sleep better than a dose of Lunesta. The only things I remembered from that class were the names of Freud's stages of development. We never touched on mental disorders. ****** College was the last thing on your mind and the first on mine during the beginning of your senior year. I left pamphlets and applications in your room and you never mentioned anything about them. Not until the day I decided to bite the bullet and just ask you. Your door was shut like usual and I paused before knocking. “Iris? Can I talk to you?” You opened the door a crack and stuck your head out, black hair sticking up on top of your head like you'd just woken up. “What?” “I was wondering if you'd looked through those college brochures,” I asked. “No,” you said flatly. “I'm not going to college.” “College is important, Iris,” I said quietly. “I want you to live up to your potential. You could go so far.” “Dad didn't go to college,” you said. “And he was fine.” “No he wasn't, Iris. I know you think he was, but he wasn't. You came to our house to get a good meal and to have someone to look after you while he pulled double shifts. I don't want you to live that way. You don't have to. You have too much potential.” “He was fine, Aunt Helen!” you shouted. “Just because we didn't live in a huge house or drive fancy cars doesn't mean we weren't happy!” You slammed the door in my face. I stood in front of your room for two minutes before walking back downstairs. I had said the wrong thing and felt horrible. It was so hard to figure out how to phrase things correctly, so you wouldn't think I was looking down on your father. All I wanted was for you to be happy, and college had been some of the happiest years of my life. I wanted that for you. ****** The next day I had to drive to Binghamton, which was a good hour and a half away from our tiny town, for a conference I did not want to attend. All I thought about the whole day was the conversation from the night before. I replayed it over and over in my head trying to figure out what I could have worded differently, what I could say to you to make it up to you. The conference ended two hours before I had to pick you up from therapy. Tom had dropped you off on his way to work. I was supposed to pick you up but I did not anticipate the four-car-pile-up on route seventeen nor the fact that my cell phone got no service on that particular stretch of highway. By the time I finally passed the awful accident, your appointment was just ending and I was still an hour away from home. Once I had cell service again, I called Tom and there was no answer. Alex was hours away at college. I called his friend, Scott, who I knew was home for a few days. I regretted going to that conference. It had been excruciatingly boring and the most exciting thing about it was the food they had served for lunch. But even the sushi didn't make it worth it. If I had been on time to pick you up, you wouldn't have had that panic attack. Tom told me I was putting too much blame on myself, that you would have had one eventually and that I couldn't stop my career to pick you up from the psychiatrist's. I knew he was right but I still felt awful and had no idea how to make it up to you. ****** Graduation came without you filling out any college applications, but I had given up. It had been difficult to even get you to go to school anymore, considering how much you slept. Dr. Liecht said it was a side effect of the anti-anxiety medications he put you on. I was so proud when you walked up those steps and took your diploma from the principal. It brought tears to my eyes just as it had the previous year with Alex. In a way, it was even more of an accomplishment for you than it had been for him. Alex sailed through school so easily that sometimes I wondered if he even realized he was there. With you, it was hard every step of the way, which is why it was so much the better when you made it. Graduation meant that your eighteenth birthday was just around the corner. It was the birthday I had been dreading for the past three years because I knew that on that birthday you'd legally be allowed to do whatever you pleased. I was afraid of what you'd do, afraid that you'd leave and we'd never see you again. I would also be legally obligated to give you your father's will and all it contained. Jimmy had left you everything including his house. What was an eighteen-year-old girl going to do with a house? You didn't need it; you lived with us. Nevertheless, I wanted your birthday to be special. I took the day off work and made you your favorite breakfast, pancakes. Cooking was not something I was particularly good at and pancakes were not something I made very often. They turned out decently enough and I put them, along with maple syrup, on the table, alongside your father's will, just as you were stumbling into the kitchen. I sat across from you and we looked at each other. Then I saw something that I could not believe I had missed in the past three years. You were the spitting image of Jimmy. I imagined you with your hair blonde and you looked like him. The same expression, and now even the same look of loss was in your eyes. It brought tears to my eyes and I bit my lip to keep them in. The last thing you needed was for me to break down while you read Jimmy's will. “Your father's will,” I managed to say as I pushed the envelope closer. You choked on the juice you had been drinking and I realized I should have waited until after you'd set the cup down to tell you what the envelope was. “He left me a note, telling me to give this to you on your eighteenth birthday,” I told you. You grabbed the envelope and ran out of the room. Then I broke down. Tears dripped down my face and I did nothing to stop them. I cried for Jimmy and how he had been so miserable that he hadn't wanted to live, I cried for you and how you seemed to be following in his footsteps, and I mostly cried because I thought I'd failed you. I had vowed to help you feel that you could do something special, unlike what my parents had done for Jimmy, and I had failed. Here you were, eighteen and a high school graduate without a job or a college acceptance letter, about to inherit the house your father had killed himself in. In the midst of thinking about this, I realized that I hadn't even wished you a happy birthday. ****** Tom told me not to worry when you spent the better part of two days at your father's house. He told me you needed to be alone, that you needed closure. Alex had driven to the house and peeked in the windows, making sure that was really where you were. He told me you were cleaning it up, getting rid of all the trash left in the rooms, and turning it into someplace livable again. It took all the strength I had not to speed over there myself and rescue you from that depressing hovel of a house and protect you from all it contained. “You'll just push her away even more,” Tom said when I voiced my concerns to him. I relented and tried to busy myself with work and not think about what was going through your mind as you spent two days in your old house. When you returned two days later, I breathed a sigh of relief. There was a lingering thought in the back of my mind that told me you might not ever return, that you might want to start your own life away from us. Instead, you came back and although you did not tell me anything of what went on during those two days, you had returned and that was enough for me. I was surprised when you signed yourself up for four classes at Sullivan Community College later that summer, but I never asked you about it. When the bill arrived, I paid it without question. Instead I smiled to myself whenever your back was turned. Something about you had changed during those two days you spent at your father's house and while I had no idea what it was, it was not something I was going to question. ****** I am not sure when I will give this to you, Iris. I am not even sure if I will ever give it to you. As I sit here writing this, you are frantically typing away on your laptop, writing a paper about the Civil War. It is halfway through your first semester at SCC and you are doing wonderfully. A year ago I never would have imagined that you would blossom so much in college. You come home every day and work on your homework far more diligently than you ever did in high school and your grades reflect that. We talk more than we used to. We talk about your classes, my job, what Alex is up to at Notre Dame, and every once in a while, you even ask me to tell you stories about when Jimmy and I were kids. It's not easy, for either of us, and that's something I accept. I know it will take work for us to be completely comfortable around each other, but it's something I want to work at, that I need to work at. Things are better, Iris, and they will continue to get better as time goes on. I could not be prouder of you if you were my own daughter. Love, Aunt Helen
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2486 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Tuesday 15 December 2009 05 19 28 pm    Post subject: Bringing the Magic Back in topic:Bringing the Magic Back This was the first story I wrote for Fiction Workshop this semester. Thought I'd post it here! Let me know what you think. My dad named me after his favorite flower, the iris. Everyone I know was named by their mother, except me. My cousin, Alex, told me that his father wanted to name him Timothy but my aunt wanted Alexander and my aunt shouted “oh, the pain!” and my uncle gave in. That's the way it works in most families, but not mine. My mother did not care what I was named and did not even care that I was a girl. She wanted nothing to do with me, and when I was two she finally up and left, leaving Dad and me to fend for ourselves. The day my mother left was the day all the magic left Dad's life. He loved her, despite her faults, something I was never capable of doing. She did not take the magic out of my life, but instead left me with a father who I knew loved me, yet was distanced. How do I know he loved me? My name, Iris. He put thought into that name, something my mother never did. ****** I was only fifteen when the magic left me, ten years younger than Dad had been when the same happened to him. I was only fifteen when my father committed suicide. My Aunt Helen told me that the depression is what did it; that he just could not take being sad all the time anymore. Before he died I could never have imagined being sad all the time. Now, I don't know anything else. Aunt Helen and Uncle Tom told me not to blame Dad, not to be angry with him. They needn't have worried. Never once did it cross my mind to be angry with Dad. In my mind, it was my mother who did it. It was my mother who held that gun to Dad's head rather than Dad holding it to his own head. Life at Aunt Helen and Uncle Tom's couldn't have been more different than life with Dad. Uncle Tom was a lawyer and made more money in a month than Dad had made in a year at his job at the mechanic's. People whispered that I would be better off at my aunt and uncle's than I was with Dad. They were wrong. No house is big enough to replace the love of your father. Dad and I had lived close to my aunt and uncle's. We lived in the same town, Agloe, New York, and the same school district. Agloe is the sort of place where everyone knows everyone and you can't so much as get your ears pierced without half the town knowing about it. However, my aunt and uncle lived in the outskirts, where all the McMansions were. Dad and I lived near the center, in a house he had been able to afford. “Iris, long time, no see!” someone shouted. I looked up from the leather couch where I was playing Tetris on my iPod. Alex's best friend, Scott, towered over me, him being six feet tall and me only being about five feet five, and his sandy brown hair was mussed the way a surfer's would be. I didn't really understand why boys did that. The nearest body of water was a tiny lake a few miles away, hardly big enough to sail a canoe on, let alone surf. “You dyed your hair black and cut it,” Scott commented. “I liked it when it was long and blonde.” “My mother had blonde hair,” I muttered, switching the position of a tall Tetris piece so I was able to clear five rows at once. “I don't want to look like her.” “Right.” Scott shifted uneasily from foot to foot. “Well, Alex and I are going to play Rock Band downstairs. You can play, if you want. I'll even let you play the drums.” I ignored him. He was only offering me the drums because my dad had killed himself a few weeks ago. Usually Scott held the drum sticks above his head and said 'you can't reach them' in a singsong voice. That was not the kind of sympathy I wanted. Scott and I had known each other as long as I could remember. He and Alex had been in Kindergarten together, a year before I was old enough to go, and had spent their days teasing me ever since. ****** “Why do I have to be the prisoner?” I whined as I sat on the grass in the jungle gym in Alex's backyard. “Because you're six and we're seven,” Alex answered. He waved his green light saber at me. “Now, sit there and watch as I defeat Darth Vader!” “I want to play Barbies!” I shouted, crossing my arms over my chest. “Barbies are for babies,” Scott said. He smacked Alex with his red light saber. Long since accustomed to having to sit through Alex and Scott's light saber fights, I pulled my brand new Malibu Barbie out of my coat and set her on the ground in front of me. I smiled and looked at her perfect long blonde hair. Fingering my own hair, I wondered how long it would take me to grow it down to my waist. ****** Aunt Helen dragged me to a psychiatrist three weeks after Dad killed himself. The school had called and suggested it, since I had missed more days than I had attended. Aunt Helen had been shocked, claiming she saw me leave each and every day. Little did she know that I hid in the garage until she and Uncle Tom left for work, only to sneak back inside and spend the day watching bad daytime television. Aunt Helen's discomfort of being in a psychiatrist's office was obvious as she sat there fidgeting with a health magazine, glancing up at the other patients with a wrinkled nose every so often. Looking very out of place in her Gucci high heels and newly dyed red hair, she seemed relieved when a nurse came and got us for my appointment. The psychiatrist was a slightly overweight old man with glasses perched on his bald head. He was exactly as I imagined he would be. Poised with a clipboard in hand, he gestured for me to sit down on a comfortable-looking armchair. I did not talk at all during that session. Aunt Helen did all the talking, explaining the 'issues' from her perspective while Dr. Baldy scribbled it all down. No diagnosis was made during that session. It took Dr. Baldy a few weeks to diagnose me with Major Depressive Disorder. Apparently that cannot be diagnosed until the person has been depressed for at least two weeks. I left the office that day with a bottle of green pills I did not want to take, but had to, since I was only fifteen and under my aunt and uncle's roof. ****** “Why are you over here all the time?” Scott asked, not taking his eyes off the television screen. He was in the process of beating Alex at the newest Mario Kart, which Alex had received for his ninth birthday the week before. “Because my dad's sick,” I replied as I played Mario Kart on Alex's old Game Boy. I wished one of them would let me play the new game. Alex's old Game Boy wasn't nearly as fun. “What's he got?” Scott asked just as he crossed the finish line. “Yes, you lose!” “Depression,” I said quietly. “Can I please play?” “You mean he's just sad?” Scott asked as he reluctantly handed me the controller. “No, it's like his mind is sick and he can't be happy,” I answered as I took the controller from him, tossing the Game Boy carelessly onto the floor. ****** “Have you thought at all about going to college?” Dr. Baldy (I never got out of the habit of calling him that) asked one day when I was seventeen and a senior in high school, the time when all of my classmates were applying to college. They'd spent the past two years counting down the days until they could leave their parents and go away to college. I'd spent the last two years shut in my room playing video games, only leaving when Aunt Helen forced me to go to school, and going to Dr. Baldy's every week. “No,” I replied. The idea of college terrified me. High school was bad enough. Four more years of it? Never in a million years. Dad got along fine without college and I could as well. “How about community college?” Dr. Baldy suggested. “I'm not going to college,” I said, slightly louder. “I don't have to.” “That is true,” Dr. Baldy nodded, “but I wish you would consider it. You're quite smart; you could go far.” “I'm not going to college! I'm just not, ok?” “All right,” Dr. Baldy said quietly, “I think our time is up for today.” I stormed out of the building, squinting at the light. Nobody was there to pick me up. I looked around, trying to figure out what to do. The world seemed huge. Never before had I appreciated just how big the world was, or how many people were in it. People bustled past me, hurrying on their way, completely ignoring me. There were so many of them and their voices seemed to get louder and louder. Someone jostled me from the side, hitting me with her large bag of groceries. I shrank back and leaned against the building. My head was swimming. My heart was hammering. My hands were tingling. I bent over to steady myself. The dizziness lessened slightly, but it was still there. What was happening? What was wrong with me? Maybe I was crazy; maybe Aunt Helen was right. I couldn't think straight. My mind was filled with so many thoughts that I couldn't make any of them out. “Iris!” I heard a car in front of me. Looking up, I recognized Scott's red SUV. It seemed far away, blocked by the crowd of of people who seemed to all be morphed together. Trying not to think too hard, I ran for it, jumped in the passenger seat, and tried to steady my breathing. I felt like I was going to be sick. “Iris, are you ok?” Scott asked. “Sorry your aunt wasn't here to get you. She got held up in traffic and called me to get you.” He actually looked worried. I must have looked bad. “I think- I don't know.” I swallowed, forcing the tears not to leak out of my eyes. ****** The door to the stairway slammed behind me, echoing in the strange emptiness. Why was the stairwell empty? Why weren't any other students using it? I shrugged and smiled to myself as I ran up the stairs, excited that I had discovered a secret stairway in the high school as a freshman. I glanced at my watch as I reached the top. Two minutes until the bell rang. I was going to be on time for the first time that day. I leaned against the door and pushed. It didn't budge. One, two, three more times I tried to push the door open. Panic came over me as I realized that there was a reason nobody else used this set of stairs. Who locks an entire set of doors? Why would the school do that? Not sure of what else to do, I banged on the doors. My heart started racing and it felt like someone turned up the heat to ninety degrees. I tried to catch my breath, but it was no use. I was going to be late again. What if I couldn't get out? What if I was stuck in there forever? “Whoa, stop banging!” someone said as they pushed open the door. Scott was standing there, looking bemused. His head was cocked to the side and he was grinning. It made me want to punch him. He knew about this stupid staircase. “Found the Freshman staircase, did you?” Scott smirked. “Freshman staircase?” “Every year a bunch of Freshmen get stuck in here,” Scott said as I walked into the corridor. “And you didn't tell me?” “No, that would've ruined the fun.” I pushed past him without saying another word and stalked off to Global History, which I was now a good ten minutes late for. ****** Panic attack. That was what Dr. Baldy called what had happened after I left his office that day. Another disorder to add to my list. It wasn't just that one, either. They happened frequently after that. Twice in school, once at the grocery store, once in the car. Aunt Helen demanded that Dr. Baldy give me more medication, which he did. It made me tired all the time. I skipped more school. Aunt Helen yelled at me. Alex, who had left for college that fall, called me less. Alex was everything Aunt Helen could have wanted in a son. Star student, captain of the football team, acceptance letter to Notre Dame. In other words, he was normal. Aunt Helen had thrown him a huge graduation party the previous year. She got him a green SUV, just like Scott's. Aunt Helen didn't offer to throw me a graduation party and I didn't care. I didn't want one. She did show up to graduation, though, as did Alex and Scott. The only reason I showed up was because I knew it would make my dad proud. It scared me to go and I nearly had another panic attack, but I had to do it. I had to make Dad proud. My eighteenth birthday was a few weeks after graduation. I woke up bright and early, something I hadn't done in years. My first act of celebration was flushing every single pill down the toilet. I was eighteen. Aunt Helen couldn't force me to take anymore medication. Aunt Helen made me pancakes, something that rarely happened. She set them in front of me along with a large manilla envelope. Her face was hardened and it almost looked like she'd been crying. I'd never seen her cry. Not even when Dad died, and he had been her brother. “Your father's will,” she said quietly as she pushed the envelope closer to me. I choked on my juice. No one had ever mentioned my dad's will and I had always assumed he didn't have one. “He left me a note, telling me to give this to you on your eighteenth birthday,” Aunt Helen said quietly. I nearly knocked over my chair in my haste to get out of the kitchen. Grabbing the envelope, I ran back upstairs, shutting myself in my room. My hands were shaking as I ripped open the envelope. Why did he want me to be eighteen to open it? Why had he made me wait three years? I pulled a stack of papers out of the envelope. Most were official looking documents, but on the very top was a wrinkled sheet of notebook paper. The writing on it was slanted and messy; I recognized it instantly. Dad's handwriting. [i]My little Iris flower, By the time you read this you'll be eighteen, an adult, a young woman, a high school graduate. I am sorry that I did not get to see you graduate, or learn to drive, or go to Prom. I know it's difficult for you to understand, but I could not go on. Life was suffocating. All the magic was gone. I used to see the magic everywhere. In the wind, the flowers, the rain, the sun, the snow. Life was amazing, like magic. Not anymore. You have to understand that it wasn't you. You were the small bit of magic left. Try not to be sad, try not to let the magic leave you. I've left you everything. The house, the car, everything. I love you, Iris. Even though I'm physically gone, I'm still there, all around you. Love, Dad[/i] Tears were leaking out of my eyes onto the paper. It was too late, Dad, too late to tell me not to let the magic leave me. It's gone. It left the day you put that gun to your head. I didn't bother looking at the will. I knew what it said. Everything was mine. I didn't have to stay at my aunt and uncle's house anymore. Alex drove me to the house on his way to work. I hadn't talked to Aunt Helen since reading the letter, but I had a feeling she already knew what the will had contained. It didn't look like anyone had even stepped onto the property since Dad died. I hadn't been there since he died. I'd been too scared of what I would find, too scared of what it would do to me. The lawn was overgrown and covered in weeds. Patches of dirt and dead grass intermingled with the weeds. I peeked in the garage and saw that Dad's old Ford pick-up was still there. The inside of the house looked exactly the same, with the exception of a very large layer of dust covering everything. Dad's Carhartt jacket was slung over the coat rack and my old purple umbrella was still lying on the floor, half open. I walked slowly into the kitchen, my heart pounding fast in my chest. A pile of dirty dishes lay in the sink, as if they were waiting for Dad or me to come wash them. The small living room's floor was littered with old newspapers and homework assignments. I took a deep breath before opening my bedroom door. It was the only room that was empty. Aunt Helen or Uncle Tom had come and gotten all my stuff for me shortly after Dad died. Only my bed, desk, and dresser remained, along with a smattering of crumpled papers on the ground. I paused outside Dad's bedroom before shaking my head and turning away from it. I couldn't go in. I just couldn't do it. Even three years later, it was just too hard. Maybe Dad had a point in not giving me the will until I turned eighteen. The place was a mess, but it was my house, my home. It was more of a home than Aunt Helen and Uncle Tom's house had ever been. Three years of living in that place and I still felt like a guest. Three years away from my house and it still felt like home. I threw myself into cleaning the place up. Every room needed it and I worked all day. I threw out the old newspapers, vacuumed, mopped, dusted, and washed dishes. Nothing was left untouched, except Dad's room. Cleaning was calming. My heart returned to its regular pace, my breathing returned to normal. For the first time in three years, I felt all right. Not great, of course, but not awful either. ****** Cleaning only took me two days. Nobody came to the house while I cleaned. Not Alex, not Aunt Helen or Uncle Tom. After I finished, I sat on the couch and turned on the television, but didn't watch. It was just background noise. Nor did I think about how the power was actually on, in a house that had been abandoned for years. I suppose Aunt Helen must have been paying for it. I sat there doing absolutely nothing for hours. They felt like the longest hours I'd lived through and the shortest ones at the same time. Cleaning had taken my mind off everything. With the whole house (except Dad's room) now spotless, there was nothing to do but sit there and think. Everything was on my mind. It was like a huge rush of the past three years of my life all jumbled up. It was just too much; too overwhelming. I was sitting there shaking on the couch, tears running down my face. Dad was gone, never coming back. Owning the house seemed to just clinch that even more. I had no one. It had been Dad and me against the world for so long. Aunt Helen and Uncle Tom didn't really count. They were my guardians because they had to be. Neither of them had taken the time to truly understand. Instead they just shuttled me off to the psychiatrist and shoved pills down my throat. Dad wanted me to succeed. He wanted me to be happy, to keep the magic in my life. I had failed at that. Grudgingly finishing high school, staying cooped up in my room whenever possible, not even considering the possibility of college. Dad wouldn't have wanted that. He would have wanted me to be all I could be, no matter how cliched it sounded. There was a knock on the door, shaking me out of my thoughts. Hastily wiping the tears off my face, I walked to the door. I cautiously opened it and was quite surprised to see Scott standing on the front step. He had cut his hair and it looked nice. “Iris,” he said quietly, “Alex told me. About the will.” I nodded. “Yeah.” “Look, I know I used to tease you all the time, but, I just want to show you something.” “All right,” I said. What was going on? Scott turned around and cut across the front yard. I followed him. He led me to the lone tree in the front yard, the one that Dad had told me would eventually be large enough for me to climb, but was still small and scraggly. I gasped when I saw what was underneath. Iris flowers. Small, but grown enough to have the purple flowers, surrounding the tree in a perfect circle. “I know they're your favorite kind of flowers,” Scott said quietly. I nodded as tears began to form in my eyes. Only this time, they were tears of happiness. Someone cared. Someone actually knew me. I felt something on my shoulder and looked up. Scott had awkwardly placed his arm over me, looking slightly nervous about it. It was then that I knew the magic wasn't gone completely. It had disappeared for a while, buried itself deep inside me underneath the grief, so deep that I thought it was gone. But it was there and had been there the whole time. The problem was that I hadn't dug deep enough to find it. Now I had brought it back and it was there, blossoming like the Iris flowers that now lived in my front yard.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2486 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 18 November 2009 02 31 27 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 10: Threats Rose handed in her unedited essay to Balladanis the next morning. Albus did notice her scribbling some last minute sentences onto it as Balladanis collected the essays. Defense Against the Dark Arts continued to be the strangest class in Albus's schedule. Balladanis expressed such a strong dislike for the dark arts that he started nearly every class with a stern lecture about why they were learning defensive spells and why the dark arts were bad. His eyes tended to rest on Matt and for some odd reason, Linda, whenever he gave these talks and Albus got the feeling it made Matt extremely uncomfortable. Albus couldn't blame him. He certainly wouldn't want to be under the teacher's eye like that. Albus couldn't really say whether he enjoyed Balladanis's class or not. It had been nearly a month since the term started, but Albus still didn't know whether he liked the class or not. It was definitely different than when his dad taught. Balladanis was strict, but a good teacher. The rest of the day went by quickly. Albus listened to John tease Rose during Herbology since she was fretting about her Defense essay. Ancient Runes was rather boring and Albus doodled idly on his notes while Matt fell asleep on his. Charms was rather fun since they worked on Cheering Charms and Albus left the room grinning profusely, along with most of the other class. Matt in particular looked strange with a huge grin across his pale fatigued face. Matt left for the Shrieking Shack shortly after dinner and Albus went to the Marauder's Den with his friends where they distracted Rose from her studying by playing Wizard's Chess. The next day Albus truly began to realize how busy his third year schedule was. For the past two years, he and his friends almost always had time to visit Matt in the Hospital Wing in between classes. This year, however, they didn't have time until after dinner. Albus was positively exhausted by that point, as he had stayed up late working on homework the night before, and still had Dueling Club practice afterwards. Lynley Anderson, the fourth year Hufflepuff who had replaced Kate as captain, had insisted that the whole team attend that meeting, as it was the first one and there were new second years on the team. Kaden wasn't put on Albus's team, but he was put on John's team, much to the delight of both boys. Hectic was really the only way to describe Albus's life at Hogwarts. As September turned into October, it only got busier. Gryffindor Quidditch team practices picked up again and along with Hogwarts Quidditch practices and Dueling Club practices, Albus hardly had anytime to rest. The Hogwarts Quidditch team was shaping up nicely after Wood's stern warning during the second practice. That and the fact that they now practiced on both Tuesdays and Saturdays. Even the Slytherin team members were beginning to work together. They didn't really acknowledge their teammates outside of practice, but Albus didn't care as long as they got along with everyone during practice. Albus was really starting to enjoy the Hogwarts Quidditch team. He was actually beginning to wish he could play in the first match, which would be taking place towards the end of October. "First Hogsmeade weekend!" John said excitedly to Albus one Friday evening as Albus was trying to catch up on his homework. Kaden was standing next to him. Albus guessed they had just returned from Dueling Club practice. "When?" Albus asked without looking up. "October 27th," John grinned, "Can't wait!" "Yeah, it'll be brilliant," Albus agreed, hoping he wouldn't have too much homework to go. "That's not all, either," John went on, "There's a Halloween party that night." "You mean the Halloween feast?" Albus asked. "No, there's an actual party!" John said, "But it's not on Halloween, it's on the 27th. It's because of the Tournament. So we can mingle with the foreign students. Or at least that's what the poster on the notice board says." Albus nodded. He really hadn't had that much contact with the foreign students. Sure, he'd seen them in the corridors and the common room and stuff, but that was about it. The only one who was around his age was Linda and she still didn't seem to talk to anyone. "And," John continued, "Costumes are encouraged." "Costumes?" Albus asked, finally looking up. "Yeah, costumes," John grinned, "We get to dress up! This is going to be brilliant!" "What should we dress up as?" Kaden asked. "Dunno," Albus shrugged. "We'll figure it out later," John said, "Where's everyone else?" "Rose and Amanda are at the library," Albus told him, "And Matt's with Balladanis." "Merlin, is he ever going to give up about that boggart?" John asked. "Knowing Balladanis, probably not," Albus said. "Well, let's go to the library," John announced, "We've got to tell Rose and Amanda about Hogsmeade." Albus was all too eager to agree to this. He was thoroughly sick of trying to catch up on all his homework. It was good to take a break every now and then anyway. Albus pushed open the door to the library a little while later, fully expecting to see Rose up to her elbows in books furiously scribbling away on a roll of parchment that was nearly used up. He gazed around the library and he spotted Rose's bushy red hair and walked towards her table. Rose was up to her elbows in homework. In fact, there were so many books on Rose and Amanda's table that you could no longer see the actual table. What Albus wasn't expecting to see was a third person at their table. Linda Morales Albus stopped short a few feet from the table. He turned to look at John, who looked equally shocked. "Is that-" John began. "Linda Morales?" Albus gaped. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. After all, he was quite tired. But even after he blinked, Linda was still sitting across from Rose and Amanda. All three of the girls were working quietly. In fact, none of them even seemed to notice the others. Albus slowly walked towards the table and John followed. Albus wasn't entirely sure what to say. He hadn't had much interaction with Linda. Albus had hardly said hello to her since she arrived at Hogwarts. He wasn't trying to ignore her or anything; it had just ended up that way. Linda hadn't shown any real interest in making friends with Albus or any of his friends. Yet here she was, doing homework at the same table as Rose of all people. Albus hadn't the slightest idea why either. "Rose," Albus whispered once they arrived at the table. Rose startled and then looked up at Albus. "What? I'm trying to study!" "Can I talk to you?" Albus glanced at Linda, "Alone?" Rose sighed loudly. "Fine, but make it quick." Albus led his cousin over to a deserted area of the library. John took Rose's vacated seat and began to whisper to Amanda about the Hogsmeade visit. "All right, what is it?" Rose asked once they were alone. "Couldn't help but notice that you were studying with Linda..." Albus's voice trailed off. He really didn't know what he wanted to say to Rose about it. "Oh, well..." Rose began, "I guess I just realized I was being stupid in trying to compete with her." Albus smirked, "Yeah, you were. But I told you that loads of times and you didn't listen." Rose sighed. "I know. Amanda's the one who convinced me to stop trying to compete with her. She said Linda would know a lot about Australian wizarding history and I could learn a lot from her if I stopped with the competition thing." Of course, Albus thought. Appealing to Rose's love of learning would definitely work. Although he hadn't really been trying to have Rose and Linda become friends. He just wanted Rose to ease up on the studying. "I guess, if you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em," Rose shrugged. "So now you're friends with her?" Albus asked. "That's where it gets complicated," Rose sighed, "You see, she still doesn't really talk to us." "How did you wind up studying with her then?" Albus was still thoroughly confused. "Amanda and I came in and she was sitting alone at the table, so I asked if we could join her. She just nodded and moved her books over. She hasn't said anything yet." Albus nodded. "I don't think I've heard her say anything outside of class." "Neither have I," Rose said, "Amanda and I figure we'll just be nice to her and maybe she'll start talking to us." Albus thought that was probably a good idea. She was the competition, but even if they played against each other on the Quidditch team, that didn't mean they couldn't be friends off of it. Linda seemed nice enough. Of course it was hard to tell since she hadn't said much. And she certainly was pretty. Albus couldn't deny that. Linda wasn't surrounded by half the male population of Gryffindor every evening for nothing. "Oh, the first Hogsmeade visit's on October 27th," Albus said, suddenly remembering the reason he had gone to see Rose in the first place, "Followed by a Halloween party in the Great Hall." "That sounds like fun," Rose grinned, "And maybe Linda will want to go with us." "And it's a costume party," Albus told her. "This could get interesting," Rose said. ****** Albus didn't have a clue as to when he'd actually have time to figure out his costume for the Halloween party. John thought it would be cool if their group's costumes coordinated, but that was the last thing on Albus's mind. The weekend seemed to literally fly by for Albus, meaning he was on the Quidditch pitch more than he was off it. He had heard stories about Wood's ruthlessness when it comes to practice from his dad and similar stories about Teddy from his older cousins. Having the two of them captain one team seemed to create practices that lasted nearly five hours, with short breaks every so often. Albus would never again complain about Georgia's length of practices. Albus had a fleeting thought that since he was a reserve player, he wouldn't have to practice as much as everyone else, but Wood shot that down during that Saturday's practice. He said he saw no reason for the reserve players to be any less prepared for the upcoming match than the regular players. It wasn't that Albus didn't enjoy Quidditch practice. He did, and very much so. He loved Quidditch, but too much of anything could run a person down. Albus spent a lot of his Sunday on the Quidditch pitch as well, in the middle of a drenching rain. Georgia had scheduled Gryffindor Quidditch practice that day and she flat out refused to cancel due to rain. James had asked. He was even more run down than Albus, since either Teddy or Tyler were constantly training the two Seekers during Hogwarts Quidditch practice. Albus returned to Gryffindor tower after eating a late dinner with the Gryffindor team Sunday evening, realizing he had no idea what his friends had spent the weekend doing. He had seen them on occasion, but most of his free time had been spent doing homework or sleeping. Two things he still had to do. Albus grabbed his bag from his dormitory and walked down to the crowded common room. He saw Rose, Amanda, and Linda at one table, but his other friends were no where in sight. The girls looked very absorbed in their homework, so Albus decided to go check the Marauder's Den for his other friends. By the time Albus made it to the Marauder's Den, he felt ready for a good twelve hour sleep. Unfortunately, he still had plenty of homework to do. Albus sighed to himself and opened the door to the room. He paused in the entryway, surprised to see that Matt was the only one there. "Hey, Matt," Albus said as he sat down at the table. "Oh, hi Albus," Matt looked up and smiled, "I was wondering when you'd show up." "Me, too," Albus said wryly, "I never thought Georgia would end practice." "Makes me glad I'm not on the Quidditch team," Matt commented. "Where are John and Kaden?" "Detention, again," Matt smirked. "What did they do this time?" Albus groaned. John and Kaden had been earning quite a few detentions every week. Albus was quite glad they weren't involving him in their pranks, since he had no available time in his schedule for detention. "They were levitating rolls of toilet paper around the corridors and charming them to hit people in the head yesterday," Matt explained, "I think you were at Quidditch practice." "Probably," Albus laughed, "Wonder what they're in for this time." "No idea," Matt said. "What are you doing here? Rose and Amanda are in the common room." "Yeah, I know. But they're with Linda," Matt muttered. "Oh, ok," Albus replied, a little confused. He still didn't quite understand why Matt didn't seem to like Linda. Sure, she was from Australia, but Matt wasn't avoiding anyone else from Australia. Of course, the rest of the Australian students were older and Matt wouldn't really have to avoid them. "John said Rose is actually trying to become friends with Linda." "She is," Albus confirmed, "She's finally realized that it's pointless to try and compete with Linda." "I guess that's good," Matt shrugged. John and Kaden burst into the room a short while later, successfully ending the conversation about Rose and Linda. Both of them were freely cursing Filch, who had made them clean the Entrance Hall without magic. Once they finally seemed to run out of curses, all four boys settled into doing their homework and no one brought up the topic of Linda again. Albus still thought it was odd how Matt seemed to have taken a dislike to her, although Linda herself was rather odd, in Albus's opinion. Rose and Amanda joined Linda at her table during Transfiguration the next day. Linda had arrived before them, as always, and didn't seem to notice or care that Rose and Amanda sat on either side of her. The same thing happened in double Potions after lunch. Rose, Amanda, and Linda even worked together on that day's potion. Slughorn had decided to give up on the inter-house pairs idea of the previous year, which Albus was very grateful for. Linda had previously worked alone on her potions because there was an odd number of people in the class, but Slughorn didn't object to all three girls working together. In fact, he seemed thrilled that the two smartest people in the class were now working with each other. "Ah, yes!" Slughorn exclaimed excitedly as he peered into their cauldron, "Your potion is turning just the right shade of green." Albus looked up from his and Matt's slightly brown potion and saw Slughorn gently stirring the girls' cauldron. "Ours is better," Malfoy muttered from behind Albus. He was working with Jackson Limbert, Albus's partner from the previous year. Malfoy and Limbert were easily the two best Slytherin potion-brewers in the class. Albus turned around and looked at Malfoy's cauldron. It was indeed the correct shade of green. "And what are you looking at, Potter?" Malfoy asked, "Jealous that I'm Limbert's partner now? I doubt your potions grade will be be that good with Eckerton as your partner." "At least I'm partnering with him for a reason other than trying to get a decent grade," Albus glowered at him. "Yeah, well..." Malfoy's voice trailed off. Albus smirked to himself and turned back around, happy that Malfoy couldn't come up with a good comeback. At the end of the class, Slughorn announced that Rose, Amanda, and Linda's potion had been the best, much to Malfoy's dismay. "You'd better watch out at the Dueling Tournament," Malfoy seethed as they left the room. "We're on the same team, Malfoy," Albus pointed out. "I wasn't talking to you," Malfoy turned and glared at Rose, Amanda, and Linda. "Is that a threat, Malfoy?" John asked loudly. "I think you can figure that out for yourself, Brickston," Malfoy said as he turned in the direction of the Slytherin common room, flanked by Limbert and Goyle. "He's just jealous," Rose muttered as they made their way out of the dungeons. "Probably," Albus agreed, "But he's a good dueler, much as I hate to admit it." "Chances are, I won't even duel him, Albus," Rose sighed, "And even if I do, there's only so many spells he's allowed to use." Albus didn't bother reminding Rose about the Slytherin who used a forbidden curse on Matt last year. Albus was kind of worried about one of his friends having to duel Malfoy. Malfoy was the only one Albus had ever dueled and didn't manage to beat. And Albus had beaten students who were two years older than he was.