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Harry Potter Ravenclaw Sorting Hat Waterglobe by San Francisco Music Box plays 'Entry Into The Great Hall'. 9-3/8' H
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Harry Potter Hufflepuff Sorting Hat Waterglobe by San Francisco Music Box plays 'Entry Into The Great Hall'. 9-3/8' H
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Harry Potter Waterglobe Quidditch
Harry Potter Waterglobe Quidditch plays the tune 'The Quidditch Match'. Measures 5.5'H x 3.5'W. The base and furine are made of resin.
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Harry Potter Hedwig Waterglobe
Harry Potter's faithful pet owl, Hedwig, is featured in this collectible waterglobe. Hedwig is perched on a stack of books, and the detailed base depicts her in flight at the halls of Howgarts. This hand-painted musical globe plays the melody, Hedwig's Theme. Measures approximately 6 inches tall.
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Harry Potter, Hermione, and Ron in Gryffindor Robes Waterglobe
This collectible waterglobe features Harry, Hermione, and Ron in their Gryffindor robes from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Hand painted and made of cold cast resin, this musical waterglobe plays the theme from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Measures approximately 4.5 inches in diameter and 6 inches tall.
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Harry Potter Slytherin Sorting Hat Waterglobe by San Francisco Music Box plays 'Entry Into The Great Hall'. 9-3/8' H
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Visit our friendly Harry Potter Forum to discuss the watery world of the merpeople, Harry's snowy owl, Hedwig and much more, like these recent posts:
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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2495
Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal
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Posted: Wednesday 10 February 2010 07 46 13 am Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden |
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Thanks, Dawn! I'm glad you like it!
Here's the family tree-
Bill-Fleur -------- Charlie-Katherine (witch)---Percy-Corrine (Muggle)
Victoire, 19 ------- Stanley, 18--------------Georgia, 7th year
Gabriella, 7th year--Heather, 6th year---------Bradley, 5th year
Ben, 4th year------ Mark, 5th year-----------Cedric, 4th year
----------------- Eddie, 7 years old--------Samantha & Lindy (twins), 8 years old
George-Alicia Spinnet----Ron-Hermione-------Ginny-Harry
Fred, 6th year-----------Rose, 3rd year-------James, 4th year
Angie, 10 years old------Hugo, 1st year-------Albus, 3rd year
------------------------------------------Lily, 1st year
Dudley-Christina (Muggle)
Kaden- 2nd year
Bethany- 8 years old
*all in Gryffindor*
Chapter 22: The Party
The party was at the Minister's Mansion, the house where all the Ministers of Magic had lived. Albus had been there a few times before, but not in a couple years. Usually all the parties the Minister held were while Albus was at Hogwarts.
A few hours before the party, Ginny made Albus, James, and Lily all take showers and comb their hair properly. She spent a good fifteen minutes trying to get James's hair to lie flat and another fifteen minutes putting Lily's up in some sort of elaborate bun type thing. Albus was very happy his own hair was far too short for that sort of thing.
Before they left, Albus's parents sat him, James, and Lily down on the couch and proceeded to tell them the rules for the evening.
“Absolutely no making trouble!” Ginny stared at James as she said this, “None at all! This is the Minister's house! I will not have you wreaking havoc in it.”
“We're trusting you to keep yourselves occupied during this. I'm going to have to mingle with everyone and we won't be able to watch you every second,” Harry added, “You're all at Hogwarts now. You're old enough to not be glued to us for the evening.”
“Don't worry,” James said, “I know when mischief isn't appropriate.”
“Let's hope so,” Ginny sighed.
Albus and his family Apparated to the Minister's house, which meant side-along Apparition for Albus. He hated side-along Apparition. It felt like he couldn't breath. It was worse when the person who was Apparating him was also Apparating another person, which was always the case in his family. It was the curse of being the middle child. He was either with James or Lily. This time it was with Lily and Harry was Apparating them.
When Albus had regained his ability to breath properly, he looked around at where they had landed. He was standing on the front lawn of what was the most extravagant mansion he had ever seen. It couldn't be considered a house; it was just too monstrous.
A long and winding sidewalk, framed with bushes and lights on either side, lead up to the front door. Albus's parents started walking up and Albus followed.
The mansion seemed to get bigger as they got closer. It was painted brown with a black roof and reminded Albus of a castle. It wasn't nearly as big as Hogwarts, of course, but it was still huge.
Harry rang the bell when they arrived at the door and it was answered by the Minister himself. “Harry!” he shouted, “Come in!”
Minister Langston Hartwell was the third minister since the fall of Lord Voldemort. He was a tall, rotund man with very little hair left on his head. He did sport a rather large mustache, which caused Albus to think of him as a much taller version of Professor Slughorn.
Hartwell was one of those very educated wizards who spoke using very large words that Albus couldn't really understand. He was long-winded and most of his speeches could be condensed down into a few sentences, according to Harry, that is. He was a very nice man, though.
“Right this way,” Hartwell motioned for them to follow him.
Hartwell lead them through the house, which was just as immaculate as Albus remembered, and into what could only be described as a grand ballroom. It was the same ballroom all the parties Albus had been to were held.
The room was decorated with silver and black and was already filling up with people. Albus spotted Rose and Matt in the back of the room and left his family in the doorway to go see them.
“Some place, huh?” Albus said once he reached them.
“This is the biggest house I've ever seen,” Rose agreed, “I see you're wearing your Slytherin robes.”
Albus rolled his eyes. “Shut it.”
“What do you think, Matt?” Rose turned to Matt, “His mum says they match his eyes, but James says they're Slytherin robes.”
“Slytherin,” Matt said immediately.
“Then yours are Ravenclaw,” Albus pointed out, gesturing to Matt's blue robes.
“I don't care,” Matt shrugged, “So, did you just get here?”
“Yeah,” Albus replied.
“I've been here for two hours already,” Matt said, “We were the first ones here. Dad keeps introducing me to people and they all think I'm a first year.”
“Bet that's fun,” Albus laughed, “Do you know most of these people?”
“Some,” Matt said, “That's the bloke Dad's taking over for,” he gestured to a very large wizard, “McVicar.”
“Right,” Albus said, “I've heard of him. Dad's always said he would never retire.”
“Dad never thought he would either,” Matt laughed, “Then we've got your Uncle Percy, I think you probably know him. Those people are a few of Dad's colleagues,” Matt gestured to a few more witches and wizards, “Then there's a bunch of people from other departments, but I don't remember any of their names.”
“Looks like it's going to be a fun night,” Albus said sarcastically.
“Oh, it will be,” Matt grinned, “When I was really little, we went to parties like this a few times a month. You make your own fun.”
“Like what?” Albus asked.
“Charming alcohol out of the wine and champagne. It'll still taste exactly the same,” Matt grinned mischievously, “By the time midnight rolls around, everyone will be wondering why they're not drunk. It'll be funny.”
“You've done this before?” Rose raised an eyebrow.
“Amy has,” Matt said, “She's here somewhere and she's going to do it soon.”
“I have to admit, that's really creative,” Rose giggled, “What else?”
“Mostly stuff with the food. Charm the chocolates to taste like vanilla, charm the serving utensils to move every time you go to pick them up, that sort of stuff,” Matt explained.
“My parents gave us this speech about how we can't play pranks here,” Albus said, “She was saying it mostly for James, but I think she should've given it to you.”
“My parents never say that stuff to me,” Matt laughed, “They never suspect me of anything. The minute they find out the alcohol's been charmed out of the drinks, they'll find Amy.”
“She is the one who's going to do it,” Rose pointed out.
“It was my idea, though. She wasn't originally going to do it at this party,” Matt explained.
“Alcohol's gone,” Amy said quietly as she came up behind Matt, “This is going to be interesting.”
“What exactly happens when you use this charm?” Rose asked.
“Oh, it's great,” Amy grinned, “First, only a couple people notice and they make a very quiet mention to another person and then that person agrees that there's something wrong with the drinks. Then it just snowballs from there until it's all they're talking about. Then someone will test the drinks, discover the alcohol's been charmed away, replace it, and then everyone will cheer. But some of them will act drunk because they think there's alcohol in the drinks.”
“Aren't your parents going to be upset?” Rose asked.
“They might tell me they wish I hadn't done it, but there's not much they can do,” Amy shrugged, “That's why I'm doing it and not Matt.”
“I couldn't see your parents yelling at you anyway,” Albus laughed.
“You never know,” Matt shrugged.
“I bet James and Cedric are going to do something,” Albus said as he scanned the crowd. James and Cedric were sitting at one of the tables, heads close together like they were plotting something.
“I'd be shocked if they didn't,” Rose smirked, “Aunt Ginny has no hope of stopping James.”
“And I'd bet my last Galleon that Georgia and Bradley are talking about Quidditch,” Albus gestured to his other two cousins, who were standing near the buffet.
“That's all they talk about,” Rose said, “And Lily looks bored. Five Sickles says she's over here in about ten minutes or so.”
“I wouldn't bet against that,” Albus said, “And Samantha and Lindy will sneak out of the room the next time Aunt Corrine looks away.”
Albus's Aunt Corrine was talking with two witches Albus didn't know and his twin cousins were chasing each other around the room.
“Are any of your other cousins coming?” Amy asked.
“Nope,” Albus shook his head, “None of my other aunts and uncles work for the Ministry.”
“Let's go get something to eat,” Matt said.
Albus and Rose agreed. Amy left to go talk to someone else and the three friends walked over to the buffet. There was already a small queue in front of it.
“There go Samantha and Lindy,” Rose said as they waited. The twins ran out one of the doors and Corrine quickly followed.
The queue moved quickly and soon Albus was in front. He grabbed a plate and piled it high with just about everything. There was always the best food at this sort of party.
They found an empty table far enough away from James and Cedric. Albus didn't want to be anywhere near them when they did whatever they were planning on doing.
“I don't even know what half this stuff is,” Matt said as he began eating, “But it's good.”
More and more people arrived as Albus ate his dinner. He recognized a few of them, but didn't remember any names. He also noticed that nobody was acting strangely due to Amy's charm. They were all acting perfectly normal for adults who had had a few drinks.
Albus, Matt, and Rose wandered around the room once they finished their food. A few adults stopped to exclaim how big they'd gotten and to inquire what year they were at Hogwarts. Lily joined them because she didn't want to be associated with James and Cedric's mischief.
“Hello, everyone!” Minister Hartwell shouted from the podium at the front of the room.
Everyone quieted down and turned to watch him. Albus, Rose, and Matt were somewhat close to the podium.
“Thank you,” he smiled, “I assume you all know why I've thrown this party, and it's not just to unload the large amount of wine I was given for Christmas!”
The adults all chuckled at Hartwell's attempt at a joke and then quieted down once again.
“Yes, yes, well, this party is in honor of none other than Walter Eckerton, whom I have appointed to the position of Head of the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. There is no one else whom I would trust with such a job....”
Hartwell's speech soon descended into one of his usual speeches, which Albus could not understand. It was long, drawn-out, and Albus could've sworn he saw his dad yawn at one point.
Albus clapped loudly when Hartwell finally finished and turned the podium over to McVicar.
“Thank you, Minister,” McVicar began, “That was quite an interesting speech. I, too, would like to congratulate Walter Eckerton on his promotion.
“I am sure at least half of you were quite surprised to hear that I was retiring. I myself was surprised. In fact, I probably wouldn't have done it if it weren't for the fact that my wife has been begging me to for the past ten years.
“However, the main reason for my lack of an earlier retirement was because there was not a single person employed in the Ministry whom I would have trusted with this job. Nobody had the capabilities to carry out this position in the way I would like. Like they always say, if you want something done right, do it yourself. That was my motto up until five years ago, that is.
“A little over five years ago, a man came into the Ministry looking for a job in the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He applied for a job in Werewolf Support Services, a position that had been open for well over a year. I was ready to hire anyone who walked through the door at that point, but I had no idea what was to come when I hired Walter Eckerton.
“Some of you may know that Walter has experience in this field. He was the Head of the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in Australia for three years before leaving the position in order to move to England.
“Walter revolutionized Werewolf Support Services as soon as he started. The ideas he had were ones that even I hadn't thought of. In five short years, he has bettered life for those plagued with lycanthropy more than anyone else in the department have in their entire careers.
“It took only six months for me to realize that I wanted Walter to take over for me when I retired. Not only does he have the experience and intelligence for the job, but he also has dedication that I have never seen before. I even have to admit that his dedication surpasses my own. I have never seen anyone fight as hard for werewolf rights as he has.
“The only thing left for me to do was convince myself it was time to retire,” McVicar chuckled, “And yes, it did take the better part of five years to do that. But now, I feel very confident as I hand the reins over to Walter.”
Everyone clapped as McVicar stepped away and Matt's dad took the podium. “That was quite the speech,” Albus muttered to Matt.
“I'll say,” Matt agreed, “And McVicar doesn't usually praise people like that.”
“Well,” Matt's dad began, “Thanks for your vote of confidence, Rob. I certainly hope I can live up to your expectations.
“I have to begin by saying how unexpected this was. I really had no intentions of becoming the head of the entire department again, no matter which country I was living in. Werewolf Support Services has been such a great place to work these past few years. It truly is my passion.
“However, when Langston and Rob approached me about taking over when Rob retired, I found it difficult to say no. In the end, I said yes because I want to make more of a difference.
“Of course, I could not have gotten to this place without the help of my wife, Julie,” he gestured to Matt's mum, who was standing near the podium, “And my daughter, Amy, and my son, Matt.
“I'm not one for long speeches, so I'll just say that I look forward to starting the job and I truly hope I can be at least half of the head of the department Rob has been.”
“I just hope none of them find out why my dad's so dedicated,” Matt whispered.
“They're too drunk to think much on it,” Rose smirked.
“They're not really drunk,” Albus reminded her.
“They're certainly acting like they are,” Rose pointed out.
A good portion of the adults were acting very drunk. In fact, if Albus hadn't known about Amy's charm, he would say they all really were drunk. The weird thing was that everybody was acting drunk. There didn't seem to be anyone who was thinking there was something wrong with the drinks.
“Let's go ask Amy about it,” Matt suggested.
Amy was standing nearby, so Albus, Matt, and Rose squeezed their way through the crowd to get to her.
“Amy,” Matt whispered, “Why's everyone acting normal?
“I don't know,” she whispered back, “Let's go look at the drinks.”
James and Cedric were also standing near the drink table, looking nearly as confused as Albus felt about this charm. That was kind of strange.
Amy grabbed a glass of wine and tried it. “Well, it tastes fine, but it's supposed to.”
“You'll have to drink a lot more than that to get properly drunk,” Matt grinned.
“I'm not doing that,” Amy rolled her eyes.
“Actually,” James grinned mischievously, “That might get you drunk.”
“What did you do?” Albus groaned.
“Cedric and I added some extra alcohol to that wine,” James whispered.
Albus, Rose, Matt, and Amy burst out laughing. Albus could not believe it. All of their pranks had backfired. The wine was now perfectly normal.
“What's so funny?” Cedric asked.
“Amy pulled a prank, too,” Albus said.
“I put a charm on all the wine to remove the alcohol, while keeping the taste,” Amy explained, “I did it right when the party started.”
“So much for that prank,” James groaned.
“Now you won't get in trouble,” Albus pointed out, “Mum's been watching you two.”
“I know,” James muttered, “That's why we can't do it again.”
“What do you want to do now?” Albus asked as James, Cedric, and Amy left.
“Want to explore the Minister's Mansion?” Matt suggested.
“Is that allowed?” Rose asked skeptically.
“I don't see why not, I mean, this is my dad's party,” Matt pointed out, “Plus, we'd just be walking around.”
“Let's go,” Albus said and lead them out of the ballroom.
It was much quieter in the rest of the house. They started wandering through any rooms that had open doors.
“This place is so bloody fancy,” Albus said.
“It reminds me of my grandparents' house,” Matt said.
“Their house is this big?” Rose asked.
“Nearly,” Matt replied, “They've got a ballroom and everything.”
The three friends wound up in a very large living room filled with antique furniture. There was an oriental carpet on the ground and oak tables and bookshelves around the perimeter. Atop the tables were fancy vases of flowers and crystal sculptures.
“We'd better be careful in here,” Rose said as she walked into the room, “If we break any of this stuff, our parents would murder us.”
“Cinda's got one of these,” Matt pointed to a crystal swan.
“Don't touch it!” Rose hissed.
“I wasn't,” Matt assured her, “I broke Cinda's once, but Mum fixed it.”
“Look at all these books,” Albus gazed up at one of the bookcases, “Madam Pince would love to get her hands on these.”
“They're all about politics, though,” Matt pointed out, “Pretty boring.”
“Mum would like them,” Rose said
“I wonder how old this furniture is,” Matt said as he looked at a rather uncomfortable looking armchair.
“Probably older than Aberforth Dumbledore,” Albus replied.
“Hey, Albus, Matt, come here,” Rose said as she looked out the window.
Albus and Matt walked over to the window and leaned over the table that was in front of it.
“What is it?” Albus asked.
“Look, there's-”
Matt leaned farther over the table and knocked one of the crystal sculptures off. Rose gasped and managed to catch it before it crashed onto the floor.
“Merlin,” Rose whispered as she set it back on the table, “Be careful.”
“Sorry,” Matt replied, “What were you saying?”
“There's someone sneaking around out there,” Rose said.
Albus peered out the window into the darkness. He could just barely make out a shadow lurking around the bushes. It didn't look like the person was walking up towards the house to go to the party. Plus, why would he show up three hours late?
“There's definitely someone out there,” Matt said.
“Let's go find out who it is,” Albus said. He didn't have a clue as to who it was, but he wanted to find out. There was no reason for someone to be sneaking around the Minister's Mansion at this time of night.
“Albus Severus Potter, are you bloody insane?” Rose exclaimed, “I think you are!”
“Look, I just want to go see if we can find out who it is. I'm not saying we should go duel them. Plus, there's a whole room full of Ministry officials in case whoever is out there is someone bad,” Albus said.
“That's a good point,” Matt replied, “Why would someone sneak around a house that's full of Ministry officials, especially when the two top Aurors are inside?”
“I don't know,” Albus said, “But I want to find out who it is.”
Rose reluctantly agreed and followed Albus and Matt, muttering under her breath. They found the nearest door and went out into the cold night, drawing their wands as they did so.
“If we aren't killed, we'll freeze to death,” Rose muttered.
Albus ignored her and started looking around. He stayed close to the house and tried to keep himself concealed in the bushes as he looked for the figure. However, he couldn't see or hear anything.
“Do you hear anything?” he whispered to Matt.
“No,” Matt replied, “It's like they disapparated or something.”
“Good,” Rose muttered, “Now let's go back inside.”
“They could've just moved,” Albus pointed out, “Let's keep going.”
Albus continued creeping around the house, with his wand out in front of him. His heart was beating fast and his hands were sweaty despite the cold. He didn't want to stop, though. Figuring out who this bloke was was exciting and nerve wracking at the same time.
“Don't move!” someone shouted and all of a sudden there was a bright light in Albus's eyes. Wand light.
Rose screamed and grabbed hold of Albus's arm. Albus held up his own wand, his hand shaking.
“Who are you?” the person shouted.
“Wh-who are y-you?” Albus stammered.
“He sounds familiar,” Matt whispered, “Hang on. Bloody hell, that's Professor Balladanis!”
Albus thought for a second and the voice did sound a lot like Balladanis. But why would he be sneaking around the Minister's Mansion?
“Albus Potter, is that you?” the man shouted.
“Er, yes,” Albus replied.
The wand light lowered and Albus heard the man step through the snow towards him. Albus saw that he was indeed Professor Balladanis. He breathed a sigh of relief as Rose let go of his arm.
“Mr. Potter,” Balladanis said and then waved his wand around, “And Miss Weasley, Mr. Eckerton. Oh, I suppose this party is for your father, Mr. Eckerton?”
“Y-yes, sir,” Matt replied.
“What are the three of you doing sneaking around outside in the dead of night? I thought I'd taught you better than that. You're just asking for trouble,” Balladanis said sternly.
“Told you,” Rose whispered to Albus.
“Er,” Albus began, “We saw someone lurking around out here and went to investigate. I guess that person was you....”
“And you're lucky it was me,” Balladanis barked, “The three of you could have been dead if that person had been a dark wizard. Now, I'm taking all three of you back inside.”
Albus nodded and followed Balladanis through the snow and towards the door. “Sir,” Albus said, “If you don't mind my asking, what were you doing outside?”
“If you must know, the Minister asked me to check the grounds in order to make sure nobody was lurking around,” Balladanis replied.
That did nothing but spark Albus's curiosity even more. He knew better than to press further, though. Balladanis was not one to explain his motives. |
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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2495
Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal
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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 |
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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. |
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Ms. Elsewhere
Joined: 13 January 2008
Posts: 878
Location: In role play game of course!
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Posted: Friday 29 January 2010 07 41 29 am Post subject: Re: RPG: Parst City Super Hero Role Playing Game in topic:RPG: Parst City Super Hero Role Playing Game |
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*********************************** (This means new chapter or the next day)
Samantha woke up and could barely move. She leaned on one arm and sat up slightly. She looked around, recognising her bedroom. The dark green paint, the photos of her travels scattered in frames across the walls. Her bed was a mess, but her blankets were on her. she had not even gotten changed out of her clothes. She winced as she noticed the cuts and bruises forming on her arms and legs. Moving slowly, she sat up, swung her legs around and stepped out of bed. She grabbed a towel drapped at the end of her bed and stumbled off to the shower.
The room started to smell like strawberries as Sam lathered up the shower gel. Desperate to recharge, she finished with the hot water and allowed only cold water to run. It helped, a little. Wrapped in her towel, she approached the mirror, and ran one hand across the steamed glass. Staring back at her was a very tired, battered version of herself.
"I can't go to work like this." she voiced. Fishing around her room for her phone, she dialed and attached it to her ear. She looked at the bedside clock and saw it was almost 10am. The other end of the phone received.
"Hi? Ya, it's Sam. Listen, I am really sick. I'm sorry I haven't called, I only just woke up. Ya, I know I'm sorry I haven't been in or called. I think it's food poisoning. Went out for dinner last night at..." she fished for a name and decided not to. "A local chinese. I shouldn't touch that stuff. Sorry, but you're going to have to reshedule the meeting with our client for tomorrow morning. Organise the surveilence, and I will go double check it tomorrow. Okay?" she paused, and the person on the other end spoke in agreeance. Then they disconnected. Sam removed the phone from her ear and sat on the bed, her hair wet around her face.
"What am I going to do?" she said out loud. Two people were missing. She had no idea where Raijin had gone. He was no doubt wise enough to disappear when things go so crazy. But then, who had got her home. Sam looked up suddenly, and her heart rate increased. Great. He's probably sleeping on the couch. Sam stood up and walked slowly over to the door where her robe was hanging on the back. She grabbed it and wrapped herself in it, and then cautiously made her way into the living room.
All was quiet. The couch seemed the same. Still, she had no memory of making her own way home, and that disturbed her. After surveying the entire apartment, she decided to make herself some coffee. As she filled the kettle and switched it on, she had a funny feeling she was being watched. Turning around, she scanned the room, the windows, and the corners with her eyes. The curtains moved, and she stared at them. Paranoia? Probably. But she had every right to be with the kind of stuff she was involved in now. |
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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2495
Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal
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Posted: Wednesday 27 January 2010 08 00 51 am Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden |
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Aw, thanks Watcher! I'm glad you like them! 
Chapter 20: The Investigation
On their way back to the castle, Harry gave Teddy and James that lecture Albus had been expecting him to give. Albus walked a little ways behind them. Far enough to make them think they had privacy, but close enough that Albus could hear what they were saying.
Harry made it clear that he was not impressed that Teddy was taking advantage of the charms he was learning in training. In fact, Harry said if he caught Teddy doing it again, he'd have to report it.
Then he told James that the Shrieking Shack was well out of bounds and that if he went in there again, he'd report James to Professor Longbottom. Albus doubted either of them would set foot in the place again.
“Why didn't you just go to the Room of Requirement if you wanted privacy?” Harry asked before leaving James and Albus in the Entrance Hall.
Teddy and James looked at each other and then laughed. “It was otherwise occupied,” Teddy grinned, “Fred's got himself a girlfriend. They were enjoying the privacy of the Room of Requirement.”
Harry smiled and shook his head. “Next time, just ask Neville if he'll let you talk in his study. I'm sure he will. I'll see you boys after term is over, then.”
Albus and James said goodbye to their dad and Teddy and then walked back up to Gryffindor Tower in silence. James was obviously still upset over the match and Albus didn't want to say anything to make it worse.
“They're doing a full investigation of Linda's broom!” Rose announced when Albus found them in the common room. James had gone directly up to his dormitory.
“Yeah, Wood's just told us,” John continued, “Stripping it down, plus they're interviewing the Australian captains, headmaster, and everyone on the team, including Linda.”
“Wow,” Albus was impressed. They wouldn't find anything, of course, but it was still nice that they were taking this seriously, “Wish it would actually help.”
“Me, too,” John agreed, “So where was James?”
“The Shrieking Shack,” Albus whispered.
Matt dumped his ink bottle all over his homework and swore. “How'd he get in?”
“He was with Teddy and Teddy knows the counter-charm from Auror training,” Albus said quietly, “But he wasn't supposed to use it outside of training, so my dad told him if he does it again he'll get in trouble. Don't worry, neither of them will go in there again.”
“Still, of all the places they could've gone...” Matt's voice trailed off.
“Why were they there?” Rose asked as she siphoned the ink off of Matt's homework.
“James was thinking of quitting the team,” Albus whispered, “Don't worry, he didn't,” he said quickly when he saw the disgusted look on John's face.
“Well, thank Merlin for that,” John said.
******
It must have been a slow news day the next day. One of those days where the front page article of the Prophet was about a young wizard who had graciously volunteered his time in the closed ward at St. Mungo's or an elderly witch who passed away, leaving her fortune to her cats.
That is, if it weren't for the fact that the Department of Magical Games and Sports and the Department for International Magical Cooperation doing an all out investigation on the Australian School of Sorcery's Quidditch team, Linda Morales and her broom in particular.
Albus was quite shocked to see the lengthy article by Rita Skeeter on the front page. He hardly ate any breakfast as he read it out loud to his friends before classes.
[i][b]The Australian School of Sorcery: Did They Cheat?[/b]
In a competition of Quidditch and dueling, which reminds
many a witch and wizard of the thrilling and slightly
more dangerous Triwizard Tournament, accusations came
yesterday of whether the team from Australia cheated.
A match was held between the Hogwarts and Australian
teams yesterday afternoon and was over in twenty minutes.
The score was 270-110, in favor of Australia. Linda
Morales, 13, of Australia, caught the Snitch in what
some people believe to be an impossibly fast speed.
“It was like one minute she was flying above the pitch
and I blinked and then she was on the ground with the
Snitch in her hand,” one Hogwarts student said.
Many other students and a few staff members recalled
the same thing. The many witnesses of this near
impossible flying have fueled the investigation.
If it is discovered that Australia used any charms,
potions, curses, hexes, or anything else deemed
unacceptable by International Quidditch standards,
a rematch will be played between Hogwarts and
Australia.
“We don't know what we're going to find,” Ian
Herkimer, of the Department of Magical Games and
Sports, said late yesterday, “On the one hand, it
is nearly impossible for a thirteen year old girl
to fly that fast on the broom she was using. On
the other hand, all the brooms used in this
competition were extensively searched for charms
before the match. It could very well be that young
Linda Morales is just an exceptionally good
Quidditch player. If that is the case, then scouts
from professional teams may wish to pay attention
to this competition.”
Perhaps the most intriguing part of this story is
that the Hogwarts Seeker is none other than James
Potter, son of the legendary Gryffindor Seeker
Harry Potter. James Potter, 15, has lived up to
his father's reputation in the past and has never
lost a match this quickly before. Neither James
or his father were available for comment.
Is Linda Morales a cheater? Or is she merely the
next greatest Quidditch star?[/i]
“Great,” Albus set down the paper, “First she's going to win this competition and then be drafted to play for Puddlemere United.”
“We don't have to worry about her playing for the Cannons,” John smirked, “That would get rid of their awful reputation.”
“That would be a bad thing because...?” Matt said.
“I wouldn't get to make fun of them anymore,” John grinned.
“Not a bad thing,” Matt replied.
The entire school was talking about the article all day long. Everywhere Albus went, someone was discussing it. Most likely due to this, James spent the day in his dormitory.
“Why'd Skeeter have to stick James in that article,” Albus lamented as he, Matt, John, and Kaden wandered the corridors. Rose and Amanda had gone to find Linda, to see if she knew anymore details about the investigation.
“Because she's Rita Skeeter,” John said, “She never writes an article without sticking your dad in it somehow.”
“I know. Rita Skeeter's horrible,” Albus said.
“There are a few reporters in Australia who could give her a run for her money,” Matt muttered.
“So irresponsible!” a hushed voice said from a classroom they were passing.
Albus stopped. He didn't recognize the voice and it didn't sound happy. He gestured for his friends to stop as well and paused to listen.
“We're already skating on thin ice!” the man was saying, “First she catches the Snitch ten minutes into the first match and now she flies too fast for people to see and beats James Potter? Now there's an investigation for Merlin's sake!”
“I didn't know she was going to do that!” another man said, “I made it clear to her that she could only fly slightly better than the other players!”
“Told you they were cheating,” John whispered.
“We weren't the ones arguing with you,” Albus replied, “That was Rose.”
“The bloke doing the yelling is the Australian headmaster,” Matt said.
“The other one's probably the captain, then,” Albus said.
“Well, you must not have told her enough because now she's on the front page of the Prophet and the Ministry is investigating! Do you have any idea what's going to happen if anyone finds out?” the headmaster raised his voice.
“Of course I do!”
“Let me refresh your memory anyway. We'll both be fired and Australia will be out of the competition. Hell, we'll be lucky to get away with fines and no jail time!”
“That wouldn't be a bad thing,” John muttered.
“You hear that?” the headmaster barked, “Someone's out there.”
Albus turned in panic to his friends and before he could run, the door opened all the way and Albus was staring at who he assumed to be the Australian Quidditch captain. The man was tall and lanky, the perfect build for a Chaser. His hair was messy in a way that reminded Albus of his father, but this man's hair was light brown.
The headmaster appeared behind the man, along with a surly looking boy who must've been around Teddy's age. Albus assumed he was the assistant captain.
“Well, who have we here,” the headmaster smirked.
Albus was frozen in place. The back of his mind said to run, but he couldn't get his legs to work. He was staring the bloke who was so prejudiced against werewolves that he refused to let Matt attend his school in the face.
“You're the Potter boy,” the headmaster continued, “The younger one.”
Albus forced himself to nod only because he didn't really want to be mistaken for James at the moment.
“That means...” Killigan's eyes moved from Albus to John, Kaden, and then Matt, “That one of you is probably,” his eyes rested on Matt and then he smiled, “The Eckerton boy. I was told you were here.”
Albus turned to look at Matt, who was now almost as white as Professor Binns. Albus shook his head, grabbed Matt's arm, and took off running. The footsteps behind him told him that John and Kaden were following.
Albus didn't stop running until he made it to the Marauder's Den. He completely ignored the Prefect who told him not to run in the corridors and Filch's new cat.
“Bloody hell, how did he manage to figure out which one of us you were?” John asked Matt once they shut the door, “He hasn't seen you in years!”
“Lucky guess,” Kaden shrugged.
Matt shook his head. “No. None of you lot have blonde hair.”
“But still, how does he know I'm friends with you?” Albus asked, “Of all the blonde haired students here, he picked you. He somehow knows we're friends. Remember, he said 'you must be the Potter boy', which isn't abnormal. Everyone knows who I am. But then he said 'which means you must be the Eckerton boy.' Someone's telling him about you.”
“So much for trying to ignore him,” Matt groaned, “Now he knows who I am. Merlin knows what he's going to try to do now.”
“Why does he even care?” Kaden asked, “I thought he didn't want you at his school. If he hates werewolves so much, wouldn't it make more sense that he ignore you?”
Kaden had a point. Albus hadn't really thought about it before, but it was kind of strange that Killigan would be so interested in Matt. But then, why would he let a vampire attend his school?
“That actually makes a lot of sense, Kaden,” Matt said, “Why does he care?”
Albus didn't know, but something told him it meant nothing good. Whatever Killigan was doing here, it went deeper than just trying to win a Quidditch tournament by having a vampire for a Seeker.
******
It took the Ministry three days to complete the investigation. During this time numerous Ministry officials appeared at the school and held interviews with Killigan, the Australian captains, and the Australian players. They even interviewed James, Oliver Wood, Todd Smith, and Professor Kendrick. Albus heard that every broom on the Australian team had been stripped and checked for illegal magic.
The results were announced before Rita Skeeter wrote another article. A Ministry official read them at dinner Wednesday evening.
“Upon close inspection of all the Australian broomsticks as well as extensive interviews with everyone involved, the Ministry is able to say that Linda Morales's capture of the Snitch was a result of pure talent and nothing illegal. I thank you all for your cooperation during this time,” he said and then resumed his seat next to Kendrick.
The Great Hall erupted in angry shouts. Everyone was staring at Linda and it looked like she wanted to disappear. Rose and Amanda were sitting on either side of her and Rose was whispering to her.
Albus and his friends weren't expecting anything different, but they had to act angry for appearance's sake and it was not difficult to do so.
Kendrick eventually had to stand up and tell everyone to quiet down. It worked, but nobody stopped talking about the results.
It was still possible for Hogwarts to win the competition. If they won every match from now on and continued doing well in dueling. The competition wasn't even half over, so there was plenty of time to pull ahead. However, the chances of doing so were low so long as Linda was playing Seeker for Australia.
The rest of the week passed with continual Quidditch discussion. James was still abnormally subdued and sat quietly with Ben, Cedric, and Nate every evening in the common room. Albus was hoping it would blow over during the holiday. It was strange seeing his brother so quiet.
There was a Hogsmeade visit that Saturday and true to her word, Rose went with Albus and his friends instead of Linda.
It was a particularly cold and blustery winter day with a steady snowfall that had already dumped six inches on the grounds. This wasn't nearly enough snow to keep people out of Hogsmeade and all the shops were full to capacity.
Kaden had begged Albus to give him the map so he could sneak in, but Albus refused. The Hogsmeade visit before Christmas seemed too risky. Too many students went on that one. The Valentine's Day one would be better, when the other students were too absorbed in their love lives to notice a second year in Hogsmeade.
“Let's go get Butterbeer first,” Amanda suggested as they made their way into the village, “I'm already frozen solid.”
“Me, too,” Albus agreed.
The Three Broomsitcks was already packed, but they managed to find a table and Albus went to get five Butterbeers. When he returned, everyone was talking about what they were doing for the holidays.
“My mum has decided she wants one of my aunts to do Christmas this year,” John said, “She's done Christmas at our house since she and my dad got married and it's finally worn her out. The funny thing is that none of my aunts really know what to do, so my mum is doing as much work as she always does.”
“I can't imagine Christmas not being at the Burrow,” Rose said.
“Me either,” Albus replied as he set down the Butterbeer, “The Burrow is just so Christmasy.”
“Believe it or not, but I'm not going to Australia for Christmas this year,” Matt announced.
John spit out his Butterbeer. “What?” he coughed, “You always go to Australia.”
“I know,” Matt said, “Never had a Christmas anyplace else.”
“Why?” Albus asked.
“Well, you know how my dad's going to be the new Head of the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He officially starts on January second. But the Ministry is throwing a fancy party for him on New Year's Eve. He didn't really want it, but they insisted. So, we've got to go to that. Hopefully it'll be better than the parties my grandparents have.”
“Rose and I will probably go to that, too. My dad's always invited to those things since he's head of the Auror Department. My whole family goes to them. There's always something to do, especially if James is feeling particularly mischievous. Rose's parents get invited, too. So does my Uncle Percy,” Albus explained.
Matt grinned. “Well if you lot are there it won't be bad.”
“This party's going to be anything but boring,” Albus grinned.
“Never thought I'd wish I was going to a fancy party,” John sighed, “How about you, Amanda? Any parties?”
“Nope,” Amanda laughed, “Just spending time with my family.”
They finished their Butterbeer and went back out into the snow. Honeydukes was their first stop, where Matt proceeded to buy enough chocolate to feed all of Gryffindor. His excuse was that it was for Christmas presents, but Albus doubted as to whether the chocolate would ever make it home.
Honeydukes was really too crowded to stay in very long, as were most of the other shops. They wound up just wandering up and down High Street until they got to the Shrieking Shack.
After a very brief snowball fight Rose suggested they just go back to the school and spend time in the Marauder's Den. Nobody argued since they were all cold and wet from the snow.
******
The next two weeks went by in a blur for Albus. It seemed like he just went from one Quidditch practice to another, with dueling practice and lessons with Balladanis thrown in. Albus had started making progress with his shield charms, but so had Malfoy and neither of them were better than the other.
At their last lesson of the term, Balladanis reiterated how important it was for them not to practice while at home. He then told them to have a good holiday and be ready to work even harder when they returned.
Linda's amazing catch of the Snitch had already started to blow over before term ended. Everyone seemed much more focused on getting a few weeks off from school than a lost Quidditch match. This helped return James to his normal self and he finished off the term with his usual pre-holiday prank.
This one was a little less harmless as he just charmed the suits of armor to sing Christmas carols at random times of the day. Of course, the carols were alternated with 'Hogwarts will win the Cup' and 'Hogwarts is better at Quidditch than Australia' and 'Hogwarts will beat New York in the next match'. James was never caught, though.
Eventually the carols wore off as did the pro-Hogwarts messages and everyone packed and got ready to go home. Albus wondered for a moment what it would be like to stay at school over the holiday. He knew his dad had done nearly every year, but Albus couldn't imagine not being with his family for Christmas.
Albus and his friends found a compartment towards the back of the train and settled in for the long journey.
“What are the Australian and American kids doing for Christmas?” Kaden asked.
“Dunno,” Albus shrugged.
“Some of them are going home, but most are just staying at Hogwarts. Linda's staying,” Rose told them.
“I bet it was Linda,” John muttered absentmindedly.
“What?” Albus asked.
“Linda. I'll bet every Knut in my pocket that she's the one who told Killigan who Matt was,” John explained.
“You're just mad at Linda for winning the match,” Rose rolled her eyes, “She did not tell Killigan.”
“Why not?” Albus asked, “He's her headmaster. Why wouldn't she tell him?”
“I don't know. I just don't think she did,” Rose muttered.
“Even that doesn't explain why Killigan wanted to know,” Amanda pointed out.
“Which means we have to find out,” Albus said.
“Find out what?” Matt asked sleepily. The full moon was that night and he had fallen asleep as soon as they got on the train.
“Why Killigan was so interested in you that time we spied on him,” Albus explained.
“Oh,” Matt said as he leaned his head against the window, “How are we going to do that?”
Albus didn't know. All he knew was that it could be problematic and there was a big chance of them getting in trouble. An unsettling silence fell upon the compartment. No one knew how they were going to get answers.
“Do you think Linda's teammates know she's a vampire?” Kaden asked towards the end of the journey.
Albus, who had been drifting off to sleep, lifted his head up. “Good question.”
“They don't,” Rose answered, “They just think she's really good.”
“Interesting,” Albus said, “I bet she wouldn't be allowed to play professionally.”
“She wouldn't,” John confirmed, “Vampires can't play professional Quidditch. It's unfair to the rest of the teams.”
“I'd pay a lot of money to see two teams of vampires playing Quidditch against each other,” Albus grinned.
“You wouldn't be able to see them,” John laughed, “They'd be flying too fast.”
“I'd like to see vampires play football,” Kaden announced.
“Of course you would,” John rolled his eyes.
The boys spent the rest of the trip discussing vampire Quidditch while Rose and Amanda played Muggle card games. Before long they were in London.
All of their parents were standing together on the platform. Albus said a quick goodbye to Matt before his parents hurried him out of the station. |
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Scarlet Lioness
Joined: 14 May 2005
Posts: 3833
Location: Music Studio in the depths of the Castle.
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Posted: Friday 8 January 2010 02 10 48 am Post subject: Re: New Zealand in topic:New Zealand |
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...and what's got to be THE WORST SUMMER EVER!
6 degrees and hail/snow in Dunedin! |
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salemboy
Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 1754
Location: NanoWrimo, baby! I'm gonna write until my hands bleed!!!
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Posted: Wednesday 23 December 2009 08 16 06 am Post subject: Re: The Shadow in topic:The Shadow |
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[I would like to make an amendment to my last post, my character isn't wearing a jacket, and is wearing a t-shirt. The girl is not wearing a poncho but is wearing his jacket.]
"We'd better get moving," Hakan turned to Yuki. The rain was still pouring down over them, soaking Hakan to the bone. He was stuck in close to her, trying to keep himself warm. She was lying next to him, her soaked head resting on his shoulder. The fact that her hair was dripping down his back didn't help.
Sighing, Yuki responded, "You sure we have to leave?"
"Yeah."
Groaning, Yuki stood up as another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, turning her into a silhouette against the bright background. Reaching out her hand, she helped Hakan to his feet. "Thanks," he mumbled.
"No problem," was her reply. She locked her arm with his as they made their way down the hill from the tree. The field around them was soaked to the ground, the normally high-rising grass laid flat on the mud. The rushing water made it difficult for the two to keep their step, depending on eachother to stay balanced.
Reaching the base of the hill, the two began running as another bolt of lightning flashed, followed by a great roll of thunder. The paths of the former battlefield had been so well-worn that even in the dark of night, it was easy to find their way. Their feet sank into the mud as they plodded along towards the paved roads of the battlefield.
Parked on the side of the road was their jeep. A four-seater with various maps and instruments strewn about the dashboard, along with several empty cans of Coca-Cola lying around on the ground. Lying across the seat in the back was a shotgun with shell cases kept underneath the leather cushions. Opening the driver's door, Hakan slid into his seat, listening to his wet clothing making a squishing sound on the leather seats. Slamming the door shut, he waited for Yuki to get in before starting the jeep.
The rain pounded on the roof overhead as Hakan pulled the car away from the roadside. Yuki began rustling through the maps, looking over them while marking certain points with a pen. "We need to go to the Appalachians," she said to him as they drove along the road towards fork in the road. Lightning flashed across the sky once again.
"The Appalachians it-"
"Go left!" Yuki shot out. Instantly complying, Hakan jerked the steering wheel to the left, taking the left fork. Trees blocked the other road from view as they drove along. "Turn out the lights," Yuki instructed. Hakan did as he was told. Not even a split-second after he did so, the lights from a truck came into view behind them as it passed the fork to where they had just been.
"Was it them?" Hakan queried, momentarily looking at Yuki before returning his eyes to the road. It was nearly impossible to see.
"Yes," was Yuki's answer as she looked back. The lights had passed, but it had been a close call. She returned to a normal position in her seat and rested her head on Hakan's shoulder. "You can turn the lights back on."
Nodding, Hakan turned the car lights back on. Not the brights, just the normal lights. He drove along the road, navigating the way through the battlefield to the exit gate. Looking at the clock, he realized just how late it, and how tired he, was. 0300. He'd have to find some sleep soon. Yuki was already breathing heavily on his neck, asleep.
They reached the gate to the battlefield. It was closed. "Wonderful," Hakan muttered. "Of course it's closed." Swearing under his breath, he gently pushed Yuki to the other side of the jeep and got out into the freezing rain. Shivering, he ran over to the gate, which was held in place by a padlock. Swearing again, Hakan ran back over to the jeep, and opened the back door. Next to the shells underneath the seat was a toolbox. Opening it, he pulled out a hammer.
Slamming the door shut again, Hakan ran back to the gate. Patting the hammer in his hand, he tried to see the best place to slam down the head. Then he saw it. Not the actualy padlock, but the thin metal ring screwed into the pavement that the padlock held the gate to.
Raising the hammer high above his head, Hakan took aim, at the ring, before slamming the hammer down. The thin ring snapped instantly, releasing the padlock and, consequently, the gate. Pushing against the metal bar, Hakan opened the gate all the way before returning to the jeep, opening his door, getting in, and throwing the hammer in the back.
"Nice job," Yuki said, startling him. Hakan hadn't noticed that she'd awoken, and now she was staring at him.
Nodding, Hakan motioned towards the road. "I think I remember there being a suburb out just past the gate. We'll stay there for a few hours before we set off again."
"Whatever you say," Yuki smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder again.
[Sorry, not enough time to make an full-quality post.] |
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Ms. Elsewhere
Joined: 13 January 2008
Posts: 878
Location: In role play game of course!
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Posted: Friday 18 December 2009 10 18 37 pm Post subject: Re: The Shadow in topic:The Shadow |
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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? |
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Ms. Elsewhere
Joined: 13 January 2008
Posts: 878
Location: In role play game of course!
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Posted: Thursday 17 December 2009 09 00 38 am Post subject: Re: The Shadow in topic:The Shadow |
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"Jon." The voice was distant, but familar. Jonathan's head was swimming with all that had been happening to him leading up to his birthday. He tried to deny it, tried to ignore it, and tried to surpress it, but the results were always the same. It was very important that he not let his emotions get out of control in any way, or he would blow the pathetic cover he was trying to maintain already. Being Super Human at Stratford Hall just didn't happen. It was an elite school, proud, as his family was, about being completely 'human.' Jon shivered. He tried hard not to be paranoid but he had a funny feeling he was being watched just the same. Something small knocking him across his ear broke his train of thought. He turned around to face his attacker.
From behind a pair of round lensed glasses curtained with thick, wavy brown hair came a look of sheer annoyance. The girl raised her hand and mouthed "What's the matter with you?" This girl was Jennifer Augair, and sometimes Jonathan was sure she had her own personal window into his head. She could tell there was something wrong, but he just scowled at her and mouthed "Nothing!" He turned back around before they could get busted by the teacher. The bell rang at the moment. A whole hour over, and Jon had not heard a thing. He gathered up his things and made for the door, but Jennifer intercepted him.
"Look at you! You're a mess." she frowned as she stood in front of him, blocking his way through the rows of desks. She ruffled his dark brown hair and then stared into his face. His green eyes had noticeable circles under them. "And you haven't been sleeping again. Are you really that freaked out about your birthday?" Jennifer pouted. She loved it when it was someones birthday. But Jon was not as outgoing as she was. He was grateful she did all the exhibitionist stuff, and he could just stay in the shadows.
"It's not that. " he said.
"So... what is it?" Jennifer pushed.
"He's just sad that he doesn't have a boyfriend yet." Jonathan's stomach pushed into his throat when her heard Andrew Thomas's voice from the open classroom door. He turned and rolled his eyes at his classmate. The boy was freakishly tall for his age, and stockier than Jon, but Jon was much more athletic than him. Andrew was well groomed as were all the students at Stanford Hall, with wavy blonde hair and
"Get lost Andrew." Jonathan said as strongly as he could.
"Get lost Andrew!" Andrew mocked in a high pitched voice. "You know your voice is never going to break. Whatever will you do? I suppose you'll have to marry Jennifer Airhead here because no one else will have you."
"You're such an idiot Andrew." Jennifer shouted at the boy.
"Shut up Airhead!" Andrew shouted back. Their teacher had long gone, rushing to the labs. Jon felt his pulse increasing. Beside him, one of the desks started to shake.
"Now you listen to me. I want what's mine, and I want it before the end of the day. " he pointed a thick finger at Jon. Jon inhaled and breathed out slowly.
"That prize.... is rightfully MINE." Jon emphasised. Control it, Jon pleaded with himself.
"You are a lying, cheating, sack of cow crap, Jonathan Deis. The only reason why you go to this school is because your Daddy is on the board." Jon gripped the desk beside him. But Andrew wasn't finished. "You couldn't do a science experienment if your life depended on it. That prize was mine, but seeing as your name is already on the plaque, I'll just take the prize money. TODAY." Andrew pressed his finger on the door pointedly, and turned to leave.
Jon stood there for a moment but he could not contain himself any longer. He looked at Jenny and could only utter one word. "Run." And he started toward her, pushing her out of the way as the desk behind him spontaneously combused and burst into flames. He pushed her to the floor, then rolled to the right and sat up, staring back at the desk. He reached out his hand and drew water from the sprinkler system in the roof. The water rained down on the classroom, and the fire was out within seconds. Jenny and Jonathan sat on the floor, staring at the remains of the desk.
"H....how..." she stuttered.
"I... don't know." he said. "All I do know now, is I have to go."
"No!" Jennifer said hysterically. "Wait! They'll hunt you down! What does this mean Jon???" Jennifer screamed over the steady spraying.
"I guess, it means I'll see you later." and Jon stood up and ran for the door. Outside, students were gathering as the fire alarm rang throug the halls. Jon hurried through the crowds, rushing to the exits, but when he got there, he saw them. Three Light officers immerged from their car, and Jon could hear their radio blaring "Activity detected in Staford Hall, Vancouver... alert all vehicles. Lock down suspected Super Human..." He was right to be paranoid before. of course a school for the rich and purest of blood would have detectors for paranormal activity. He cursed his lack of control, and vowed he would get better. His backpack flung over one shoulder, he went back into the school and into the front office, which had been evacuated. Inside he found a purse with keys in it. He raced back outside to the staff carpark which as deserted, as everyone was congregating on the field. He held up the security card and pressed the buttons, waiting for the answering 'beep'. It came, and Jon ran to the Mazda MX5 series 2012; cherry red. Great, what an inconspicuous car, he though. He jumped in, smacked at the charm that was hanging from the rear view mirror and started up the car. He looked over at the passenger seat and groaned. The seat covers were black with a big picture of Tinker Bell on them, and the writing on it said, "I'm no princess." Jon jammed it into reverse and pressed too hard on the excellerator, squealing out of the car space. He pushed the gear stick into first and jumped a bit. He wished he had done more practice; he would have failed his driving test if he took it today. But he kept going, sped up enough for second, third.. and he was off. Out of the car park. Onto the street, and down the road.
Jon had set his backpack on the floor, he reached over and rummaged in the front section, pulling out the little box his mother had left him. The contents spilled, but he was able to collect up the item he was after; a safe deposit key at the Chamber of Commerce. The closest bank was on Robson Road, and he was only minutes away. He kept checking his mirror, but no one persuited him. this made him very nervous. He hoped him mother had something useful for him in that box, because if he knew anything about the light, they would not stop until they had him. he wished he was not so familiar with the going ons of that organisation ,but it was in his blood. And now, his destiny was about to change. |
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