In Moonlight's Shadow

Chapter 49: In the Hospital Wing

I was at the library bright and early on Saturday morning. The place was pretty much deserted when I got there. The only person in the quiet room was the ancient librarian. She looked just like she had when we visited Hogwarts months ago.

She looked up when I shut the door and glared as I walked over to a table. It looked to me like she was just itching to demand why I was there at such an early hour. I ignored her and found a secluded table in the back. I had no idea what time the library started to fill up and didn't really want anyone to see me.

It didn't take me long to crank out Torro's werewolf essay. I didn't even bother to look up any facts in any books. I just used what I already knew. Before I even realized it, I had two and a half feet of parchment scrawled on with tiny printing. I wrapped up the essay with a three inch conclusion and set it aside. It would probably be the easiest assignment I would have the entire year.

Then it was time to play catch up. After a week of classes, I had had at least one lesson in all my subjects and realized I was quite behind in a few of them. I wished that all the schools would just coordinate curricula; it would make life so much easier. I was behind in Charms and Transfiguration. I was really behind in History of Magic. I would have been behind in Astronomy if it hadn't been for the fact that I spent weeks researching the Northern night sky before we moved. I was actually ahead in Ancient Runes, Potions, and Herbology, although I had a feeling I was only ahead in Potions because I spent so much time outside of school brewing. I also would have been behind in Defense and Care of Magical Creatures if it weren't for Dad teaching me so much about them.

I found text books for Charms and Transfiguration, as well as what might as well have been an entire set of encyclopedias' worth of History of Magic books. I grabbed my quill and a fresh roll of parchment and settled down to read my huge stack of books.

"There you are, Eckerton," someone said.

I jumped and knocked my ink bottle onto my notes. Merlin! I groaned and started to siphon off the ink with my wand. Then I looked up to see who had found me.

It was Monica. Monica Kramer. I had been avoiding her for the past two days. Whenever she was in the dormitory, I went to the common room, and vice versa. The only time we were together was at night and during classes, and I liked it that way. Victoire Weasley was standing behind her, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"What do you want," I crossed my arms across my chest.

"Your werewolf essay," she sat down across from me. She looked down at the table and picked it up.

"Give that back!" I snatched it out of her hands.

"You finished it," Monica gaped, "And it's longer than Torro wanted."

"Yeah, so?"

"So you have to let me copy it!" Monica replied, "It's your fault we have to do this stupid bloody essay!"

"No way," I said, "Now could you please just leave me alone?"

"I told you not to do this," Victoire muttered.

Monica whipped her head around and looked at Victoire. "I'll do what I want. And this freak is the reason I have extra homework!"

"Freak?" I seethed, "And what exactly makes me a freak, Kramer?"

"Your love for werewolves, Eckerton," Monica turned back around.

"Are you serious, Monica?" Victoire looked astonished, "Because if you are, then I must be a freak, too."

"You're different," Monica sighed.

"No, I don't really see that I am," Victoire said, "You know what? I'll see you later, Monica. And you can find someone else to help you with your essay."

Victoire turned and left, with Monica gaping at the spot she used to stand. She then looked back at me. "Well, look at that, Eckerton. You got my best friend mad at me."

"Just leave," I muttered. I had way too much studying to do to put up with her. I looked at my watch. It was just after noon and I hadn't even started on my actual homework. I was still on the first book I had to read, too.

"No, I want you to help me with my essay since you're the werewolf expert," Monica said.

"Go away!" I shouted a bit too loudly.

"Quiet!" Madam Pince shouted, "This is a library!"

"Fine!" Monica glared at me, "I'll leave. Everything you know about werewolves is probably wrong anyway."

Monica got up and ran out of the library, slamming the door behind her. Madam Pince shouted after her, but she probably didn't even hear the scolding.

I picked up my quill and resumed my reading, but I couldn't concentrate. I didn't understand how Victoire could put up with Monica. So far, Victoire seemed nice enough.

I spent the rest of the day in the library and luckily had no more visits from Monica. I managed to read a good bit of the Charms book and put a dent in the History of Magic reading. I took a break before dinner and wandered around the castle for a bit, but went back to studying after dinner.

The next few weeks dragged by and I got into a routine. Ignoring and avoiding Monica was my top priority, so I spent most of my free time in the library. For someone who claimed to be so smart, she didn't frequent the place too often.

I went to class and studied well into the evening. But it did become apparent that catching up wasn't as easy as I originally thought. After two weeks I was somewhat caught up in Charms and Transfiguration, but learning hundreds of years' worth of British magical history in two weeks was pretty much impossible.

With the exception of Monica, the dormitory situation was going well. It was crowded, but the rest of the girls were nice. I soon learned that Samantha, Seren, and Alyssa were avid Quidditch fans, although Samantha was the only one with any skill in the sport. Much of their conversations revolved around Quidditch. They pretty much left me alone, which was nice. I hardly saw Victoire since she made up with Monica and avoiding Monica soon became avoiding Victoire as well.

There were three people who actually paid attention to me. The first being Teddy Lupin. He made it a routine to say hello to me and ask me how I was whenever we passed each other in the common room or in the Great Hall. He seemed to be a smart and somewhat mischievous bloke who preferred to spend all his time on the Quidditch pitch rather than studying.

Laney Hall continued to partner with me in Herbology and try to talk to me, but I found her rather annoying. She was just too hyper, in my opinion. However, I did prefer her company to Quinton Willinson's. Willinson's brief alliance during Defense didn't last long. He went right back to trying to compete with me in Potions and grew steadily angrier as I continued to beat him in every contest Slughorn set to us.

Besides Potions, the only class I really enjoyed was Astronomy. The Astronomy professor, Professor Polo was a kind man who clearly had a love for the stars. It was quite relaxing to look out one of the school telescopes while he gave commentary on what was happening with all the celestial bodies.

My third Astronomy lesson of the year took place the night of the full moon, which left me really distracted. I only half listened to Polo's lecture, which was about the unique opportunity we had in having class the night of the full moon. All I could think about was what was happening to my brother.

It was kind of strange. I hadn't been at school for a full moon in months and I had sort of gotten used to it. Even though I was never home during them, I had gotten used to going home shortly after and seeing how my brother was. I had also begun to realize what sort of affect the transformations had on him. Since I was at school in Australia for most of the full moons prior to finding out I'd have to move, I never really knew exactly what went on.

I was surprised to find out that I was actually really worried about the full moon. I had sent my family a letter the previous night and was hoping they'd let me know how the transformation went as soon as possible. I knew Matt had gotten through many full moons, but I couldn't shake the worry.

I pointed my telescope towards the moon and stared at it until my eyes glazed over. I lifted my head up and blinked. I looked at my watch and saw that class was only half over. It was going by much slower than usual, probably partly because of the headache I'd been steadily developing all evening. I was beginning to think that my late night studying was catching up to me. I was constantly tired and just wanted to go to bed.

"What did you get on that werewolf essay?" Monica, who had unfortunately picked the telescope next to me, asked.

"100," I muttered. Torro had given the essays back earlier. It certainly had taken him long enough to grade them.

"Figures," Monica muttered, "Guess what I got."

"Don't know, don't care," I said and stuck my eye back in my telescope.

"I only got a 95."

I personally didn't think a 95 was that bad, but I chose not to say anything else.

"So, tonight's a full moon," Monica went on. Why she continued to talk despite her obvious hatred, was beyond me. "It's the night all the werewolves come out and attack people."

I turned my head in surprise and knocked my eye into the telescope in the process. I winced at the pain and then glared at her. Why was she bringing that up? The werewolf project was long over and we'd moved on to studying dark curses in Defense class.

Monica was looking at me with the smuggest look I had ever seen on her. It just made my blood boil despite the autumn chill that was in the air.

"Yep, it's the one night that proves that werewolves are monsters and not people with a horrible disease," Monica continued.

That was it. My head felt like someone was driving a rod into it and as far as I could tell, Monica was the one doing the driving. Everything she said increased my headache tenfold. I was sick of it. Sick of her. She's the one that kept bringing up the werewolf stuff. Why couldn't she just leave it alone?

"You," I seethed, "Have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"I do too," Monica said, "At this moment, some werewolf is probably attacking an innocent child."

It felt like she had hit a Bludger into my stomach. I froze and just looked at her. She seemed to have known that she hit a nerve and smirked at me.

"Just. Shut. Up," I growled. I couldn't take it anymore. If I kept listening to her, I was afraid I'd let something slip. I grabbed my bag and ran to the door, wrenching it open.

"Miss Eckerton?" Polo asked.

I didn't say anything and slammed the door behind me. I ran as fast as I could down the stairs and began to run towards Gryffindor Tower. Then I stopped. I couldn't go to Gryffindor. In less than a half an hour, Monica would be there.

I turned around and ran in the opposite direction. I had no idea where I was going, but I couldn't go to Gryffindor. Monica would just taunt me again. Why did she have to mention a werewolf attacking a kid? I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut. I vividly saw an image of the werewolf attacking Matt and snapped them open again.

I somehow wound up in front of the hospital wing and guessed it was because I must have wanted something for my headache. And my eye, which still hurt from ramming it with a telescope. I quietly opened the door and walked into the darkened ward. There was a stream of moonlight coming in through one of the windows and it was illuminating one of the beds. The nurse was nowhere in sight.

I collapsed onto the illuminated bed and buried my head in the pillow. I didn't really feel like looking for the nurse. I was too exhausted. I thought of what was happening to Matt and let the resulting tears leak out of my eyes and be absorbed in the pillow. The pillow muffled my sobbing. Maybe I could just sleep there and leave before the nurse woke up in the morning. No one would have to know.

My hospital wing trips at Australia were limited. In fact, I could count the number of times I'd been there on one hand. The first time was because someone in my first potions class had exploded his potion and some had landed on my arm and burned it. After that, I had gotten sick once in first year and once in second. Then I had to go there again because of an exploded potion and then once because I'd been hexed. I was never one of the kids who would go see the nurse every other day and ask for a potion for every little thing.

I didn't want to become one of those kids at Hogwarts either, but I had no place else to go. If I slept in the common room again, I'd probably get yelled at by a prefect.

"Is someone out there?" someone said.

I froze and stopped sobbing. I was caught. So much for slipping away before the nurse found me. I sat up and looked towards where the voice was coming from.

The lights came on revealing Madam Pomfrey, whom I had met when we visited Hogwarts but hadn't seen since. She was a short and kind of chubby woman with a kind face that had a hint of sternness to it.

She walked slowly over to my bed and paused at the foot of it. She gave me a curious look and waited for me to say something.

"Er, hi," I sniffled and wiped my eyes.

"Hello," she smiled, "You're Amy Eckerton, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Uh-huh."

Madam Pomfrey sat down on the end of the bed and looked at me like she was waiting for me to say something else. I really didn't know what else to say, except that I might like a headache potion.

"What's wrong, dear?" she asked after a while.

Everything, I thought. Nothing was going right. "I- I don't know," I said, afraid that if I elaborated, I'd start crying again.

"Well, let me heal that bruise near your eye," she replied as she pulled out her wand, "What happened?"

I guess my eye looked worse than I thought, if she noticed it without me saying anything. "Banged it on a telescope," I muttered as she tapped her wand to my eyebrow. It immediately felt better.

"Were you in Astronomy?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she walked over to a cupboard.

"Yeah," I said.

She returned with a potion and told me to drink it. I recognized it as the pain potion Mum usually gave to Matt after full moons. I downed it in one gulp.

"I always loved Astronomy," the nurse told me as she sat back down on the bed.

"I do, too," I sighed, wishing the class hadn't been ruined by Monica.

"I sense there's something else troubling you," she said quietly, "You look too miserable for someone who just got her head knocked into a telescope."

I bit my lip and looked down at the blanket. I started messing with a loose thread and then looked back up at Madam Pomfrey. She was just sitting on the bed, waiting for me to say something.

"I-" I began, not sure what I wanted to tell her, or even if I wanted to tell her anything. "It's just hard to catch up on everything. I mean, I know nothing about British history of magic and I've been trying to read about five books on the subject as fast as I can, so I've been getting no sleep. Plus, I'm trying to catch up in Charms and Transfiguration, too. I've had a headache since dinner and had to stay up for Astronomy, which I normally love, but just wanted to skip tonight. But I can't skip any classes."

"Yes, that would be hard," the nurse sighed, "You might find it more productive to spread out your studying instead of trying to learn everything as soon as possible."

"I guess," my voice cracked, "But I already failed the first History of Magic exam! There was so much stuff on it that I should have learned last year."

"You'll do better on the next one," she assured me, "And you don't want to study so hard that you're too tired for Astronomy, especially if it's something you really enjoy."

"It wouldn't matter," I said shortly, "Astronomy is not going to be any fun because there's this girl who has been driving me mad. She's in my dormitory so she's in all my classes. She's why I ran out of Astronomy tonight, not because of my eye. She just kept saying stuff that made me want to hex her. Not that I ever would," I said quickly.

Madam Pomfrey smiled, "I know you wouldn't. She's just one of those girls who knows how to get to you."

I nodded. "She just doesn't understand anything!" I said as my eyes began to water. "I was just minding my own business and doing what Polo told us to and she just started talking to me. I was already tired and my head hurt and I was worried about," I paused and glanced out the window at the bright full moon, "Other things."

Madam Pomfrey followed my gaze and then looked at me knowingly. "Ah. Now I understand."

I stared at her. Then it hit me; she already knew about Matt. We had met her when we visited Hogwarts and Kendrick had told her. Going to school at Hogwarts was not going to be like Australia. I didn't have to hide everything from everyone. There was someone I could talk to about Matt.

"You're worried about your brother," she continued.

I nodded and silent tears began to stream down my cheeks. I hastily wiped them away.

"It's ok to be worried," Madam Pomfrey assured me, "I'd think it strange if you weren't."

"Sh-she hates werewolves," I said, not really sure why I was telling the nurse all of this, "The girl who I was talking about. In Astronomy, she was telling me that tonight was the night all the werewolves came out and attacked people. She s-said that a werewolf was attacking an innocent ch-child r-right now."

"Oh, Amy," Madam Pomfrey got up and sat down right next to me. She put her arm around my shoulder and rubbed my back, "I'm so sorry she did that."

"She doesn't understand," I wailed, "Matt was the innocent child who got attacked."

"She doesn't know about that," Madam Pomfrey said quietly.

"I know," I sobbed, "But I've almost told her. A few times. In Defense class and tonight. I don't want her to know, but I just wish she'd stop bringing up the topic of werewolves."

"She won't find out," Madam Pomfrey assured me, "Now would you like to spend the night here?"

I nodded, grateful that I wouldn't have to return to my dormitory that night. "Thanks."

"Not a problem," she smiled, and got up to return to her room.

I climbed under the covers, still in my robes, and curled up into a ball. I stared out the window and watched the moon. Despite my fatigue, it took me a long time to fall asleep.

Madam Pomfrey made no mention of our talk in the morning, which I was grateful for. I didn't normally spill my guts like that, but I had just felt so awful. I felt somewhat better that morning, but was still anxious for a letter from my parents. I was very relieved to find that Monica had already left the dormitory when I went there to get my books before class. I wondered if there was any way I could switch dormitories.

The letter from my parents arrived at dinner, which resulted in quite a few odd looks from the people sitting closest to me. Apparently it was customary to receive mail at brekkie at Hogwarts. I detached the letter from Jasper's leg, gave him a pat on the head, and watched as he soared out the nearest window. I shoveled a few more bites of dinner into my mouth and then ran all the way back to the common room to read it.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I read that Matt was ok. Sure, it was going to take a few days for him to recover, but his transformation hadn't been any worse than normal. Mum also told me that Dad was starting to get the hang of working the microwave. He had only exploded one thing that week. I laughed as I shoved the letter in my pocket, wishing I had been there to see the look on Dad's face when he had so much success with it.

Chapter 50: The Slug Club

I began working even harder to avoid Monica after the incident during Astronomy. If I set my alarm a half hour earlier than I usually did I could get ready for class before Monica woke up and I could be down in the Great Hall before she was ready. That way I could avoid her and get extra studying done during brekkie. It was a win-win situation. Well, except for the lack of sleep.

I was trying to get more sleep like Madam Pomfrey told me to, but it was hard. I was so far behind in History of Magic and it got worse every day. I was completely lost in class and it didn't help that Professor Binns's voice could put a screaming mandrake to sleep.

I was slowly catching up in Charms and Transfiguration, although I was beginning to form a hatred of Charms. The professor, Professor Washburn, was possibly the nastiest professor I had ever met in my life. He clearly despised Gryffindor and favored the Slytherins in our class. Not only that, but he didn't really help when I needed help. All he did was yell at me and tell me I should practice more. Charms quickly became one of my least favorite classes.

Potions was my favorite class, despite the fact that Quinton Willinson continually talked to me while I was brewing. I learned to ignore him and found he was pretty easy to tune out.

"Miss Eckerton," Slughorn said to me as I was leaving Potions in early October.

"Yes, Professor?" I paused near his desk.

"I'm having a little get together this Friday evening at six for certain students who possess a lot of magical ability," Slughorn told me, "You've proven yourself to be an excellent potion brewer, so you are welcome to attend."

I nodded. "Er, thanks, Professor."

"You've been invited to the Slug Club," Willinson said smugly after I left the room. He had been standing outside the door, waiting for me, much to my disgust.

"The what?" I looked at him strangely.

"The Slug Club," Willinson repeated, "That's what we call it."

"And do you go to these things?"

"Ever since first year," Willinson grinned.

I rolled my eyes. Of course. I sped up to try and escape from him, but he followed me all the way to the Great Hall for lunch. I turned to sit down at the Gryffindor table and he finally left me alone.

I spent the rest of the week thinking about the 'Slug Club' meeting. Part of me was a little excited at being picked for what seemed to be an exclusive club, but the other part of me was kind of nervous about what it would entail. The prospect of spending more time with Willinson wasn't that great either.

I owled both my parents and Olivia about it, but Olivia didn't get back to me before Friday. My parents thought I should go because they thought I'd make friends there. I sort of doubted that because I had already been at Hogwarts for a month and didn't really have any friends. I had one enemy, one bloke who occasionally said hi to me, a girl who was slightly annoying but liked to talk to me in Herbology, and a bloke who was constantly trying to beat me in potions contests. But none of them could be considered friends.

Eventually I decided to go, mainly because I knew Monica wouldn't be there. I had heard her complaining about the Slug Club to Victoire the previous night. Victoire had just said 'mmm-hmm' every once in a while and then told Monica that the only reason she didn't like it was because she had never been invited. Monica wasn't too happy about this. Apparently Victoire occasionally went to Slug Club meetings but usually didn't because none of her friends went.

I was at the door to the potions classroom at exactly six o'clock and took a deep breath before entering. There were chairs arranged in a circle and a table of food a few feet away.

People were milling about, getting food and talking. I recognized two of the girls I had ridden in a carriage with on the first day. Gabriella and Georgia Weasley. I learned a few weeks ago that Gabriella was Victoire's sister and Georgia was their cousin. In fact, I learned that most of the red-haired people in Gryffindor were the infamous Weasley cousins. A few other Weasleys were in the room including the two first years, Fred and Heather. Apparently they were cousins and not twins. Teddy Lupin was there, along with the prefect, Landon Comer, who had woken me up on the first morning. Willinson was sitting down and talking with Slughorn.

I wandered over to the food table, where Teddy and Landon were piling their plates high with all sorts of stuff. I picked up a plate and peered down at a pile of something that looked like chicken.

"It's pheasant," Teddy grinned at me, "So you're in the Slug Club now, huh, Aussie?"

I had given up trying to get Teddy to stop calling me 'Aussie' weeks ago. It was a lost cause and as long as no one else started doing it, I didn't mind.

"Pheasant?" I hesitated before picking up a very small piece. It sounded like something Cinda would serve at a fancy party.

"It's not bad," Teddy shrugged as he put some pheasant on his own plate.

I took some potatoes and carrots and then followed Teddy and Landon to the chairs. They sat down near Gabriella and Georgia, which thankfully was far away from Willinson.

I tentatively bit the pheasant while Teddy watched. It was disgusting. I grimaced and swallowed it, dropping the remaining bit onto my plate. Teddy burst out laughing.

"I guess it's an acquired taste," he grinned.

"Not one I'll be acquiring," I said as I took a large gulp of water.

"So, how'd you wind up here?" Teddy asked, "Good at potions or were your parents famous in Australia?"

I choked on my water and coughed it all over my plate. How did Teddy know to ask that? What did it have to do with the Slug Club? My heart started beating fast. Were people going to find out about Matt before he even had a chance to enter Hogwarts?

"You ok?" Teddy looked at me strangely.

"Yeah," I coughed. I could feel my cheeks turning red. "But why would you think my parents are famous?"

"You don't know much about the Slug Club, do you?"

"Er, no."

Teddy laughed. "There's two ways you can get into the Slug Club. One, you're good at potions. Two, your parents or grandparents or some other relative are famous. Slughorn likes to establish contacts with famous people. That's how I got into this club. It definitely wasn't my potions ability. I'm rubbish at brewing. Must have inherited my dad's brewing ability. My mum was an auror who fought in the war against Voldemort. My dad fought against Voldemort, too, even though he wasn't an auror. Both of them were in the Order of the Phoenix. They died in the final battle."

I nodded. "Victoire told me about that." Voldemort? Order of the Phoenix? Final battle? I really needed to get to that book Victoire recommended.

"So what is it, then? Potions or parents?"

"Potions," I told him, "My parents aren't famous." Not in England, that is, but I didn't tell him that.

"Like Landon, then," Teddy gestured to his friend, "He tutors me in potions. If it weren't for him, I'd be failing."

"You're hardly passing as it is," Landon replied.

"You'd better step up the tutoring, then," Teddy laughed.

"There's only so much I can do," Landon sighed, "I think you were born without the potions section of your brain."

"Welcome, everyone!" Slughorn stood up, "I think we're all here now. We have one new member since our September meeting. Everyone say hello to Amy Eckerton."

Slughorn gestured to me and everyone muttered hello. I blushed even more and waved.

"Miss Eckerton has proved herself to be a most brilliant potions brewer!" Slughorn said excitedly, "Perhaps the best in her year, no offense to Mr. Willinson."

Willinson did in fact look offended, but said nothing. He merely continued chewing his pheasant and glared at me.

"Now, Amy," Slughorn went on, "Might you tell us a bit about your family? And what made your parents decide to move from, Australia, right?"

I groaned inwardly. I shouldn't have came. I should have known this would happen. Everyone, including Slughorn, was watching me and waiting for me to explain why I had moved to England.

"Er, well, my dad's working at the Ministry. In Werewolf Support Services," I said quietly, "And we did move from Australia."

"Interesting!" Slughorn replied, "Very interesting career choice. And did he do that sort of work in Australia?"

"Erm, yeah," I muttered.

"Then why did you move?" a Hufflepuff who looked to be a little older than me asked.

"Uh," I stammered, "The Ministry was downsizing. Budget cuts. So my dad got let go. He found a new job up here and that's it."

"Ah, yes, budgets," Slughorn sighed, "A necessary, but irritating fact of life. And sadly Werewolf Support Services is always the first to go."

I nodded, hoping that he would divert the conversation from werewolves. The last thing I wanted was for the club to debate the importance of Werewolf Support Services. Although I had a feeling Teddy would at least share my opinion.

Luckily one of the Ravenclaws announced that her cousin had just signed a contract to become the Wimbourne Wasps's new Chaser, so the conversation turned to Quidditch. I paid vague attention while I ate my potatoes and carrots.

The meeting was actually rather boring. I found myself stealing glances at the clock a few times and wondering what time Slughorn would decide to let us leave.

It finally ended shortly before eight o'clock and I left with Teddy and Landon.

"What did you think?" Teddy asked as we walked back to Gryffindor.

"That was one of the most boring things I've ever experienced and that includes fancy dinners with my grandparents," I said, "Why in the name of Merlin do you two go?"

"Slughorn's got connections," Landon replied, "He might be able to help me get a job once I'm out of here."

"I'm hoping for extra credit in potions," Teddy grinned, "Haven't gotten it yet, but I'm still trying."

"You're hopeless," Landon laughed.

"Well, I have no idea what I want to do when I graduate and I don't think I need any extra credit in potions," I replied, "I don't think I'm going to go to another one of those."

"Suit yourself," Teddy shrugged, "But you'll come back once you realize you've got a craving for pheasant."

I cringed at the thought of eating pheasant again and shook my head. Teddy certainly had a good sense of humor. He seemed to like everyone. I'd noticed that he was often the center of attention in the common room. Victoire was often with him, when she wasn't with Monica, and the two of them seemed to be really good friends.

******

The common room was buzzing with excitement the next morning. There was a large crowd around the notice board and quite a few people were talking about 'stocking up' on stuff. I waited until most of the crowd had dissipated and went to see what all the excitement was about.

There was a note on the board that announced the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. It was in two weeks, on the nineteenth. Brilliant, I thought, I could use a break from school. From what little I'd seen of Hogsmeade during our trip to Hogwarts, it seemed to be a cute village. It would be fun to explore it some more.

After brekkie I went back up to my dormitory and wrote another letter to my parents. I wanted to know if they could go to Hogsmeade when I was going. I hadn't seen them in over a month and I was missing them more than I wanted to admit. I had gotten so used to seeing them everyday and Hogwarts didn't have holidays every few weeks like the Australian School of Sorcery did. I wouldn't get to go home until Christmas.

My weekend was full of studying and just wandering around the grounds. I liked walking near the Forbidden Forest and tried to see what was in it without actually stepping foot in the place. What I wanted to do was go explore it, but was too afraid of getting caught.

Mum and Dad's reply arrived Sunday night while I was eating dinner. Pollux still hadn't gotten the hang of delivering mail at the same time as the other owls. I hurried up to my dormitory and shut the hangings around my bed before I opened it.

Dear Amy,

We're sorry to hear that the Slug Club
was a bit of a disaster. At least those
two boys, Teddy and Landon, seem nice.
Don't feel that you have to attend
another one of those if you don't want
to.

The Hogsmeade visit sounds like fun.
Unfortunately, it is the day after the
full moon. It's not likely that either
of us will be able to meet you. One of
us will need to be home with Matt, and
Dad thinks he'll have to work that
morning. We'll let you know if his
work schedule changes.

Your birthday is the week after. We'll
owl Professor Kendrick and see if we
could go with you to Hogsmeade that
weekend. It's a better time.

Try and have fun in Hogsmeade. Maybe you
could see if some of the other girls in
your dormitory would go with you?

Write soon. We love you and miss you.

Love,
Mum, Dad, Matt, and Ellie

I put the letter back in its envelope and sighed. I leaned back against my pillows and stared at the top of my bed. The full moon was the day before the Hogsmeade visit. I hadn't even realized that. Of course they wouldn't be able to go.

I guess I would be going to Hogsmeade alone. Victoire would be going with Monica and I did not want to go with her. The other girls always talked about Quidditch and I didn't want to spend a whole day doing that. They pretty much ignored me anyway. I couldn't just ask if they'd go to Hogsmeade with me.

Maybe my family would be able to go on my birthday. To be honest, I had almost forgotten it was coming up. My past three birthdays had been spent with Olivia in our dormitory. We always threw each other mini parties on each other's birthdays. That wasn't going to happen this year. No one in my dormitory would so much as mutter a 'happy birthday' on their way out the door.

I heard footsteps come into the room and I hoped it was Samantha or one of her friends, not Monica and Victoire.

"I think Eckerton is here," Monica said. No such luck.

"So?" Victoire replied.

"I'm surprised she's not in the library, studying," Monica went on, "That's all she ever does."

"Maybe she wants to get good grades," Victoire muttered, "Until this year, you studied a lot, too."

"I know. I just don't see the point anymore. I still get decent marks when I don't study. I'd rather just spend more time having fun."

"You know it's best to have marks that are better than decent," Victoire told her, "You'll need them when you go to look for a job when we graduate."

"Well, I don't know what I want to do with my life," Monica said and I heard a bed creak, "We haven't all had our lives planned out since first year."

"I have not," Victoire replied.

"Yes, you have," Monica laughed, "You're going to become a Healer and marry Teddy Lupin. You'll probably have two or three kids. At least one of them will have a French name."

Teddy Lupin? How could Monica think Victoire was going to marry him? They weren't even going out, as far as I knew. I thought it was pretty strange to know who you wanted to marry at the age of fourteen anyway. I certainly had no idea.

"I do not!" Victoire shouted, "Teddy's just a friend! I've known him since I was born. We grew up together."

"Which is what makes it so adorable," Monica giggled, "Oh, come on, you know you like him."

"I don't," Victoire muttered.

"You'll have a perfect life together. Like a fairy tale. The poor orphan boy whose parents died working to defeat an evil wizard falls in love with the beautiful quarter veela girl who led a sheltered life. You get married, have three beautiful children, and everything's perfect," Monica sighed.

Quarter-veela? No wonder Victoire was so pretty. That explained her and Gabriella's white blonde hair. I had noticed that they were the only ones out of the Weasley cousins who didn't have red hair. I guess the veela blood overcame the red hair gene.

"Monica, you've been reading too many love stories," Victoire groaned, "Real life doesn't work that way."

That was for sure, I thought. My family was proof of that. My parents' lives had been like a fairy tale, until they had trouble getting pregnant. But then when I was born, the fairy tale was back. Then it shattered in mere minutes when Matt had been bitten. Nothing ever stayed perfect.

I was sort of surprised that Monica was the one to bring all of this up. I would never have guessed her to be the hopeless romantic of the dormitory. It was a complete contrast to the girl who had been making fun of me for the past month.

"Maybe not usually," Monica said, "But if it would work for anyone, it would be you. Anyway, you're still set on becoming a healer, right?"

"As long as I keep my potions grade up," Victoire sighed, "I have to get at least an E on my O.W.L. next year."

I had no idea what an O.W.L. was. It did sound vaguely familiar, like it was one of those things Kendrick had mentioned when I was sorted. That was something I'd have to find out soon, though, if it was happening the next year.

"Maybe you could get Teddy to help you," Monica said. Both of them burst out laughing and I smirked.

"I'll muddle through," Victoire said.

"Of course you will," Monica replied, "You're smart."

"So are you, if you'd just study," Victoire said.

******

The next couple of weeks went by fast and soon it was the night before the Hogsmeade visit. Dad had owled me earlier in the day and told me that he had to work the next day and wouldn't be able to meet me in Hogsmeade. I hadn't really thought that he'd be able to go, but I was still disappointed.

It was also the night of the full moon. The common room was noisy and filled with excitement which greatly contrasted my own mood. I was sitting off by myself trying to read a History of Magic book. I wasn't really concentrating on it, though. I was staring out the window, watching the moon, and thinking about Matt.

There was a howl of laughter and I turned to look at the middle of the common room. Teddy had morphed to look like Professor Washburn and was giving a speech in which he professed an unhealthy love for hippogriffs. I had no doubt that the story was fake, but it was still incredibly funny. I laughed to myself and tried to get back to my reading. I had only seen Teddy morph a few times, but it no longer shocked me. The first time I saw him change his hair, my jaw dropped to the floor, which sent Teddy into hysterics.

I didn't really want to stay in the common room and listen to the happy chatter of the other Gryffindors, but I had no other place to go. Monica was in our dormitory with a few sixth year friends and I didn't want to go up there. Victoire wasn't with them. She was with Teddy.

I was half tempted to wander to the Hospital Wing and just stay there for the night. I hadn't been there since the last full moon when I had spilled my guts to Madam Pomfrey. I didn't want to repeat that, but I had a feeling that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't question why I was there if I showed up tonight. But at the same time, I didn't want to get in the habit of going there every month.

I wound up just staying in the common room until it emptied out. The younger students started going up to their dormitories around eleven and by one in the morning, the place was deserted.

I wasn't tired and had no desire to go up to my dormitory until I knew the other girls were asleep. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. I hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep on the night of a full moon in nearly three years. Even when I went to school in Australia I had sleepless nights during full moons.

Eventually I went up to my dormitory and laid down in my bed. Whoever snores (I still hadn't figured it out yet) was snoring, but I didn't bother using the silencing charm since I wasn't really tired.

The next thing I knew I was waking up to the sound of an owl hooting. I cracked my eyes open and squinted in the sunlight. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost noon.

I sat up and yawned. Pollux was sitting on the foot of my bed with a letter wrapped around his left leg. I laughed to myself as Pollux flew over to me. I doubted he was ever going to deliver letters at the right time. Although I had slept through brekkie that day.

I untied the letter and patted Pollux on the head. He hooted and then flew out the window. I opened the letter and began to read it.

Dear Amy,

I'm not sure if you'll get this before
you go to Hogsmeade or not, but if you
do, we hope you have fun. Get out of
the castle and enjoy yourself. It's
your chance to explore the village
without us telling you where to go.
You've always wanted to do that.

The full moon was last night, although
I'm sure you know that. It was a
bad one. Matt had been sicker than
usual for the days leading up to it.
We think he actually caught the flu
a few days ago. It's never good
when he catches a bug right before
the full moon. He's pretty sick
right now. We're going to take
him to St. Mungo's if he isn't a
little better by the afternoon.

We just wanted to let you know.
Don't worry too much. We'll keep
you updated. Have fun in Hogsmeade.

Love,
Dad

P.S. Pollux is a very smart owl.
He was sitting on the deck this
morning, right when the sun rose,
like he knew we had a letter to
send to you.

Have fun in Hogsmeade. That wasn't going to happen now. My stomach churned as I stuffed the letter back in its envelope. How could I have fun in Hogsmeade knowing that Matt was really sick?

It wasn't fair. He just got over the injuries from the full moon at the transformation center in Australia. Why did he have to catch the flu right around the full moon?

Matt had caught the flu right before the full moon once before, about a year ago. I hadn't been home at the time, but Mum and Dad had told me what had happened. It was bad for him to get sick right before the full moon because then his system was already run down and trying to recover from whatever bug he had, and then he had to turn into a wolf. It had taken him a week to recover the last time it had happened.

I got out of bed and got dressed. Everyone else in my dormitory was gone, presumably in Hogsmeade. I wasn't really in the mood to do anything fun, but figured going to Hogsmeade might take my mind off Matt. My only other choice was to wander around the castle all day.

Chapter 51: Hogsmeade

The grounds were deserted when I set off on the path towards Hogsmeade. A few first and second years were running around near the lake, but I didn't see any older students. Hogsmeade was going to be packed. Maybe I should have just stayed inside. I had a feeling that if I saw Monica I would hex her before she had a chance to say anything to me.

The weather was chilly and there was a slight breeze in the air. It was cloudy, but I didn't think it was going to rain. I had no idea if that weather was normal for this time of year.

I had been right; Hogsmeade was crowded. Students were walking around the streets and laughing. Others were running in and out of the already crowded shops. I had no idea where I wanted to go.

I walked slowly up the street, passing the Three Broomsticks, Honeyduke's, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and numerous other shops. I wasn't in the mood for butterbeer, sweets, or jokes, though.

The shops were replaced by little houses as I walked further up the street. Then the houses became farther and farther apart until I was nearly out of the village. I looked to the right and saw that I was next to the Shrieking Shack.

I sighed and walked towards the broken fence that surrounded it and remembered the time I had practically dragged Matt towards the place. The old lady who had talked to us that day wasn't anywhere to be seen.

The dilapidated old building was going to be Matt's in just a few short years. He'd spend the night there once a month, completely alone. He was always alone on full moons, obviously, but my parents were always in the same house. It was going to be strange when he transformed in that shack. The place would live up to its name once again. It would shriek again.

"Place is haunted, you know," someone said from behind me.

I turned around and saw Willinson standing a few feet away. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," he shrugged as he walked towards me, "Just wandering around Hogsmeade, by myself, since Victoire refused to go out with me."

"There's a surprise," I muttered. Why anyone, let alone Victoire, would want to go out with Willinson was beyond me.

"I see you're alone, too," Willinson replied as he leaned against the fence.

"So?"

"So, you're alone. I'm alone..." Willinson raised his eyebrow, "Victoire may have been dense enough to refuse my company, but you're surely not."

I rolled my eyes. "There's a reason Victoire won't go out with you. You're arrogant and all you do is talk about yourself or pry into other people's business."

"Aw, come on, Amy," Willinson said, "Would you really rather be alone than with me?"

"Yes," I snapped, "I do want to be alone!"

I glared at him and then stalked back to the street. I couldn't even go for a walk in peace. Did he honestly think I would spend the day with him? Had I not made it clear in class that he drove me mad?

"I'll be at the Three Broomsticks later, if you change your mind!" Willinson shouted after me.

I ignored him and kept walking. I would not be going to the Three Broomsticks, then. Surely there were other pubs in Hogsmeade.

I passed a small pub named Madam Puddifoot's and didn't bother to check it out. From the window display, I gathered it was a place for lovesick couples only. There were cupids dangling in the window with heart shaped cakes below them.

The next one made me pause. The Hog's Head. The place had been disgusting when Mum and I spent the night during the August full moon. It seemed kind of dodgy as well. But it had been empty and quiet.

I lingered outside the door for a minute before going inside. Nobody had told me the place was out of bounds, but it didn't seem like the kind of place students normally went to.

It was dark inside and most of the tables were empty. There were a few cloaked figures at the bar and one of the tables in the back was occupied. Two wizards were talking in hushed tones at it.

I walked up to the bar and sat down a few stools away from the cloaked figures, hoping nobody would yell at me to leave. The old bartender was the only one who seemed to notice me, though. He ambled over, followed by a goat, and looked at me funny.

"Can I get you something?" he asked.

"Butterbeer," I said as I tossed a few Sickles onto the bar.

The barkeep grabbed the coins and slammed a dusty bottle onto the bar. I muttered a thank you and opened it.

I wondered if Mum and Dad would owl me if they had to take Matt to St. Mungo's. Had they already taken him? I looked at my watch. It was just after two. They may have already taken him.

I hated being so out of touch with everything. Ten months ago I would have given anything to be back in school and away from my family. Now, I would give anything to just be back at home with them.

"Something wrong with the Three Broomsticks today?" the barkeep asked after two of the cloaked figures left.

"Er, I don't think so," I muttered.

"Don't often get students in here," he said, "They usually like Rosmerta's place."

"It's too crowded. And happy," I added.

"Well, Rosmerta's customers like that," he replied, "You look familiar."

I shrugged. "I do go to Hogwarts."

"Nah, that's not what I meant. You stayed here over the summer. You and an older lady, she your mum?"

I nodded, surprised that he remembered. I looked at him curiously and noticed that his eyes were bright blue. They had a certain sadness to them, though. Then it hit me that they reminded me of my dad's. It was kind of eery. They were the same shade of blue and had the same hint of sadness. Granted, the barkeep was significantly older than Dad, but it was still strange.

"Not the usual clientele, you and your mum," he said, "Mostly get old hags and wizards who won't show their faces. Goblins, the occasional vampire. But I tell ya, you and your mum were out of here so early in the morning I thought you looked more suspicious than half the folks I usually get in this old place."

"We had, er, things to do," I stared down at the bar.

"No need to tell me," he said quickly, "I never ask what business my customers are in. Bad idea to be that nosy, if you ask me."

I looked back up and gave him a half smile. Maybe this was the right place for me. I liked people who didn't pry into your business. Mum had been right to stay at the Hog's Head instead of the Three Broomsticks.

The barkeep went back to scrubbing out empty glasses and I slowly sipped my butterbeer. I muttered goodbye to him after I'd finished and went back outside.

The small amount of sunlight was blinding after being inside the darkened pub for so long. I blinked and started down the street towards Honeyduke's. I figured I'd get Matt a get well present.

Honeyduke's was packed when I got there, but it was worth it. I stood in the doorway for a full minute staring at the amount of sweets they had. Someone pushed me into the shop and I started wandering around. Never before had I seen such an impressive selection of chocolate. The sweets shop near the Australian School of Sorcery paled in comparison.

Barrels upon barrels of every sweet imaginable were all over the place. Bins of other sweets were against the wall and displays of chocolate were scattered throughout the floor.

It was officially my favorite store in Hogsmeade. The place was brilliant and it was almost enough to take my mind off Matt. He would have loved Honeyduke's. I'd have to take him there if he and my parents made it to Hogsmeade for my birthday.

I spent nearly an hour browsing through all the sweets. I grabbed a shopping basket and filled it to the brim. My parents had given me quite a bit of money at the beginning of the year and I decided then and there that I would spend all of it on Honeyduke's stuff throughout the year.

I found a variety pack of chocolate frogs for Matt. There were milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. But there were also strawberry, vanilla, toffee, caramel, and butterscotch flavored ones. I snagged a box of those for myself as well.

It was nearly dinnertime when I left Honeyduke's, so I just decided to go back to school. I spent the whole walk thinking about my brother and whether he was at St. Mungo's or not. If my parents decided to take him, they would have taken him hours ago.

The common room was crowded when I got there. It seemed that most people were already back from Hogsmeade. Teddy was setting off a round of Weasleys' indoor fireworks and had a large crowd of people watching him.

I bypassed the commotion and headed up to my dormitory. I had to hide my sweets and send Matt's chocolate frogs off with Pollux.

Monica was sitting on her bed when I got there, along with a few girls I didn't recognize. I think they were sixth years.

"Could you get out?" Monica said as soon as I stepped foot in the room.

"It's my room, too," I muttered as I crossed the room to my trunk.

"We're busy," Monica snapped, "So get out."

"No," I said. I shoved the bag into my trunk and then noticed that Pollux was sitting on my bed, with a letter attached to his leg.

"Your stupid owl bit me," Monica told me, "It shouldn't be allowed to be here."

"What did you do to him?" I asked as I patted his head.

"Nothing," Monica huffed, "I was just trying to get the letter off his leg-"

"Wait," I turned to look at her, "You were trying to read my mail?"

"No," Monica replied, "Why would I want to read your stupid mail? I was just trying to get the owl to leave. It kept hooting and it was driving me mad."

Like I was going to believe that. I glared at her as my heart started beating faster. Monica couldn't read my mail. What if the letter was from my parents? She'd find out about Matt.

"Don't. Ever. Touch. Pollux. Or. My. Mail. Again," I seethed. I was really grateful that Pollux had bit her. He was such a good owl.

"And you don't ever come in here when I'm busy," Monica replied.

"I'll come in here whenever I want," I said as I detached the letter from Pollux's leg. I shoved it in my pocket and stomped out of the room. I didn't want Monica anywhere near me when I read it, in case it was about Matt.

The common room proved to be much too crowded to find a place to read my letter. There wasn't a single chair available that wasn't more than two feet away from another person.

I left the room and decided to try and find an empty classroom. The first two I tried were locked, but the Transfiguration room wasn't. I ran inside and flicked my wand at the torches on the wall. The room lit up and I sat down on one of the tables. I took a deep breath and ripped the envelope open.

Dear Amy,

I hope you had fun in Hogsmeade.
We can't wait to hear all about it.
Send us a letter and tell us what
you did.

We did wind up taking Matt to St.
Mungo's. He woke up around noon
with a headache that wouldn't go
away with potions and he got sick
every time he tried to eat something.
With the combination of having the
flu and then the full moon, he
hadn't eaten anything in nearly
three days-

"You're not allowed to be in here," someone said from the doorway.

I hastily shoved the letter in my pocket and looked up. An older Hufflepuff was standing just inside the room. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was frowning at me in a way that reminded me of my really strict Defense teacher from Australia.

"Er, it was unlocked..." I said.

"You're still not allowed," she replied, "You don't look familiar. You're not one of the usual trouble makers."

"I'm new here," I said quickly. I was getting kind of tired of telling people that.

"Oh," the girl walked towards me and stuck out her hand, "Camilla Redwood, Head Girl."

"Amy Eckerton," I shook her hand. Head Girl. That would explain her extensive knowledge of the rules.

"Nice to meet you, Amy Eckerton," Camilla smiled, "I'll let you off this time, since you don't know all of the rules. But from now on, don't go into any empty classrooms at night."

I nodded and followed her out of the room. She sped off down the corridor shouting after a couple first years who ran shrieking past us.

I sighed and walked in the other direction at a much slower pace. I doubted the common room had emptied in the fifteen minutes I had been gone and I was sure Monica was still in the dormitory.

I wandered around aimlessly for a while trying to find someplace to go read my letter. Eventually I wound up in front of the hospital wing. That was where I could read my letter, I thought. It was quiet and there were beds with curtains. If Madam Pomfrey asked why I was there, I would just tell her the truth. She was the only one in the castle who I could tell the truth.

The place was empty when I got inside, which was better than I could have asked for. Madam Pomfrey was behind her desk and got up as soon as I walked inside.

"Amy," she smiled, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "I just needed someplace private to read a letter. It's, um, from my parents..." my voice trailed off.

"Of course," Madam Pomfrey said softly, "Stay as long as you'd like."

"Thanks," I said and walked towards the nearest bed. I pulled the curtains shut and pulled the letter out again.

Healer Sterling gave him a stronger
pain potion for his headache and
got a nutrient potion in him.
He's staying overnight, though, for
observation. Sterling said that
he should be able to go home
tomorrow if he continues getting
better. We're staying with him.
I'll owl you when we're home.

Hope to see you next week for your
birthday. Professor Kendrick has
not yet owled us back about it,
but I'm sure he's busy and will
reply soon. I'll let you know as
soon as he gets back to me.

Love,
Dad

I stared at the letter until the words became blurry. They had gone to St. Mungo's. Matt was in St. Mungo's again. I wanted to go visit him. I felt so helpless being so far away. I couldn't do anything. It was true that there was nothing I could do even if I was at St. Mungo's, but being there would be better than being at school.

How long would it even take for him to get better? Sterling hoped he'd get to go home tomorrow, but who knew if that would happen? I wondered if he would even be better in a week, if he would be better in time to go to Hogsmeade for my birthday.

I shook my head. That was selfish. He was the one who got the flu and then had to turn into a wolf and was now in the hospital. I shouldn't be thinking about my birthday. I was fine. The worse I had to deal with was an arrogant and irritating roommate. I didn't have to turn into a wolf once a month.

"Everything ok?"

I jumped and hastily rubbed the moisture from my eyes as I turned around. Madam Pomfrey had popped her head through the curtains.

"Er," I sighed. There was no point in pretending everything was ok. Yet again, I felt compelled to just tell the nurse everything. "No, not really."

Madam Pomfrey sat down on the bed next to me and patted my shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"My brother is at St. Mungo's," I whispered and handed her the letter.

She looked at me sadly and took the letter. She hesitated before reading it, but I nodded and she scanned it.

"Oh, Amy," she put down the letter and sighed, "I know it's hard being away while he's sick, but I think he'll be fine. Think back to when you went to school in Australia. He had bad full moons then, right? And he was fine."

I nodded, knowing she was right. The only thing was, was that back then I didn't really know when Matt had a bad full moon. My parents didn't tell me much. They sent a letter after every full moon and basically just told me if it was bad or good, but not the details. Now my parents were letting me in on the details and it was worrying me.

"Now, why don't you go down to the Great Hall and get some dinner. Then go do something to get your mind off your brother. It won't do him any good for you to worry," Madam Pomfrey handed me back the letter and stood up. She patted my knee and went back to her desk.

I shoved the letter into my pocket and wiped the rest of the tears from my eyes. I stood up and pulled back the curtains. The ward was still empty and Madam Pomfrey had returned to her work at her desk.

"The door is always open," she said.

"Thanks," I whispered as I left.

I did go to the Great Hall for dinner, but I didn't eat much. I mainly mixed my food around on my plate and when the first years sitting near me started having a food fight, I decided it was time to leave. I ran up to my dormitory and grabbed the chocolate frogs I had bought for Matt. I walked slowly to the owlery and sent them off with a letter. Hopefully they would cheer Matt up while he was in the hospital.

******

Pollux brought me a letter Monday morning from my parents. Matt had been able to go home late on Sunday and was doing better. Kendrick had also given me permission to go to Hogsmeade for my birthday and my parents were sure that Matt would be well enough to go. Between that and the fact that Monica overslept and was late to Double Potions, my week had gotten off to a good start.

The rest of the week was uneventful. I fell asleep in History of Magic but no one noticed since Samantha did the same and began snoring partway through the lesson. Apparently the Gryffindor Quidditch team had practiced for three hours straight the night before so she got very little sleep.

By the time Saturday arrived I was quite excited to see my family. I decided to devote the day to studying since I probably wouldn't get much done on Sunday. I was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel with my history studying and it was about time. I figured I'd be able to make it partway through the twentieth century by the evening and after that I'd be able to start on The Rise and Fall of Lord Voldemort, which is what I was really interested in.

"You sure do study a lot."

I looked up from my book about the wand shortage of 1932 and saw Ted Lupin and Landon Comer collapsing into the chairs in front of me. Both looked out of breath and were sporting huge grins.

I shrugged. "I've got a lot of catching up to do."

"I think she rivals Victoire," Landon replied, "And I have never seen anyone study more than Victoire."

"But even Victoire knows when it's time for fun," Ted pointed out.

"Why are you two so out of breath?" I asked warily.

"Erm, probably best you didn't know," Teddy muttered, "So you can say you didn't know anything about it if you're asked."

"We figured the library would be the best place to hide," Landon grinned, "We'll blend in with all the academic types, like you."

I raised my eyebrows. "But you're a prefect."

"Doesn't mean I can't have fun," Landon shrugged.

"My dad was a prefect," Teddy said, "And he made plenty of trouble."

"Anyway, you should find out what we did at any moment," Landon said.

Teddy checked his watch. "Yup, anytime now."

The two boys didn't say anything else and I went back to my book. I hadn't read two paragraphs when I heard a faint explosion in the distant.

"Right on time," Teddy grinned as he stood up.

The entire library erupted in chatter and half the people ran out of their chairs and towards the door. I followed Teddy and Landon, who were leading the pack.

"This is a library!" Madam Pince shouted as we stormed out the door.

I had no idea where we were going, but I followed Teddy and Landon until they reached the Charms classroom. They came to an abrupt halt in front of it. There was already a crowd of students in front of the room and most of them were laughing hysterically.

"What did you do?" I whispered to Teddy. I couldn't see a thing with everyone standing in front of me. I realized within a few days of being at Hogwarts that I was one of the shortest, if not the shortest, person in the fourth year. It didn't help that most of the people in front of me were sixth and seventh years.

"Portable swamp," Teddy whispered, "Right in Washburn's room. Bit of a specialty of George Weasley."

I gaped at him and then squeezed my way to the front of the crowd so I could see. When I finally managed to see it, I let out a loud gasp. The Charms classroom had been turned into a swamp. There were various plants throughout the room and every inch of the floor was covered in a thick layer of mud.

It was unbelievable. The swamp was one thing, but to put it in Washburn's room? Even I knew that he was the foulest professor in the school and I had only been there for two months. It was common knowledge that a good, healthy fear of Professor Washburn was necessary for survival at Hogwarts. Teddy and Landon apparently did not have that fear.

"What's going on here?" someone shouted.

The group immediately dispersed and someone grabbed my arm. I saw that it was Teddy and looked at him questioningly.

"Filch," he muttered, "Don't want to be caught near that room when Filch is around. He's the caretaker and worse than Washburn when it comes to anger. Some say he's senile and others say he's just mad. Whatever it is, it's best not to be near him."

I nodded and kept running. We didn't stop until we reached the Fat Lady's portrait. Landon shouted the password and we ran inside, followed by what looked to be at least a quarter of Gryffindor house.

Everyone started clapping when the portrait closed and Teddy and Landon both took enormous bows. I got the feeling that they were the resident mischief makers and apparently everyone seemed to know that they were responsible for the swamp.

"Let's just hope that he can't get rid of it by Monday and Charms is canceled!" Teddy shouted.

Half the people in the room, presumably the ones who had Charms on Monday, shouted with excitement and continued to congratulate Teddy and Landon.

I collapsed into a nearby chair and grinned as I watched the two boys run around the room. That had been more fun than I'd had in ages. I wasn't really one to pull pranks at school, but it was certainly fun to watch them take place. Teddy and Landon hadn't even gotten caught, which was amazing. They must have had good practice.

It wasn't until the shouting and excitement began to calm down that I realized that I left all of my books in the library.

Chapter 52: Happy Birthday

Mum and Dad weren't meeting me until lunch time, so I could have slept in. But I didn't. The dormitory was quiet when I woke up; everyone else was sleeping. I was the only one in the dormitory who ever woke up early on the weekends. Plus, it was my birthday. I never slept late on my birthday.

I got up and looked out the window. It was raining. Again. It rained more during two months in England than it did during a whole year in Australia. The weather was actually sort of like the weather in New York.

Hardly anyone was in the common room when I went downstairs. There were a few first years throwing paper at each other, but they stopped when I walked in. That was kind of funny since I am far from a prefect.

I decided to go to the library and get my books since I hadn't wanted to leave the common room the previous night. There had been too much of a chance of getting blamed for Teddy's prank.

The library was completely empty, save for Madam Pince. I grabbed my books and endured a lecture on keeping track of my 'precious learning materials' before going down for brekkie in the Great Hall.

Everyone else was up when I went back to my dormitory. Samantha, Seren, and Alyssa weren't there and I assumed they were down at the Quidditch pitch. Victoire and Monica were in the middle of an argument and I tried to sneek inside unnoticed.

"You realize we've got an Herbology exam tomorrow," Victoire said.

"I'll study after dinner," Monica groaned, "I don't see why you can't do that."

"I want to get a decent mark on this test," Victoire snapped, "Sneeking into Hogsmeade this afternoon is not going to help that."

"Fine," Monica stood up, "I'll see if Jess and Kate want to go."

"Have fun, then," Victoire said shortly.

"I will," Monica stomped out of the room.

Victoire sighed and sat down on her bed. I quickly shoved my books into my trunk and located my Astronomy homework. I headed back down to the common room to try and get it done before meeting my parents.

I had no idea when Monica was planning on sneaking into Hogsmeade, but I really hoped it would be after my lunch with my parents was over. The last thing I needed was to run into her there. Hogsmeade was a pretty small place so chances are we'd meet up. Despite the fact that Monica had no idea Matt was a werewolf, I did not want her anywhere near him.

Teddy and Landon came down shortly before I had to leave, looking exhausted and happy at the same time. Half the common room applauded them. It seemed that the prank was still fresh in everyone's mind.

"Hey, Aussie," Teddy collapsed onto the chair next to mine, "What are you up to today? More studying?"

I closed my Astronomy book and looked at him. His hair was bright red today and half of it was sticking up. It looked like he just rolled out of bed, but there were bags under his eyes. Landon looked the same, except for the lack of red hair. I wondered what time the two of them went to bed.

"Not the whole day," I replied, "I'm going to Hogsmeade."

Teddy's eyes lit up. "You're sneaking in? Excellent. I had you pegged for the sort who follows rules."

"No," I laughed, "I'm allowed to go. I'm meeting my parents and my little brother there. It's my birthday, so we're going to have lunch."

"It's your birthday?" Teddy said.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Landon asked, "We would've thrown you a party."

I cringed. I thought I had gotten away from parties when I left Australia. "I'm really not into parties."

"That's too bad," Landon sighed, "Teddy throws a great party. I even neglect to yell at him when he sneaks into Hogsmeade."

"Well, happy birthday anyway," Teddy said.

"Thanks," I said, "I'd better go."

"See you later," Teddy said as I got up.

My parents met me in the Entrance Hall. I smiled as soon as I saw them and ran all the way down the grand staircase. Mum wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me so hard I thought I would explode. I didn't mind, though. I had missed them so much. It was so nice to be able to see them.

Mum and Dad looked so relaxed. Dad's face was still wrinkled, but his eyes lacked the purple bags that had been there for so long. Mum was smiling. Matt looked about the same. You'd never guess that he just went through an awful full moon, though. He had completely recovered.

"Happy Birthday, Amy," Mum said. Dad and Matt repeated it.

"Thanks," I grinned, "Let's go."

My parents wanted to hear everything that had happened in school so far, even though I'd already told them most of it in letters. I started with the swamp that Teddy and Landon set off the previous day. Dad and Matt laughed hysterically and Mum smirked and tried to stifle her laughter.

I decided to just tell them the good stuff. I didn't want to ruin the day by letting them know how miserable I was. All three of them looked perfectly happy and more relaxed than they'd been in months.

"I figured we'd just go to the Three Broomsticks," Dad said as we entered the village.

"Ok," I agreed.

We walked the rest of the way to the Three Broomsticks and I continued to talk about everything that had happened in school. The only problem was that I was running out of good things to say. There was only so much you could say about brewing potions and how delicious the Treacle Tart was.

The place was relatively crowded, although not even close to how it had been during the Hogsmeade trip. We found a secluded table near the back and sat down at it. Madam Rosmerta came over and we all ordered various sandwiches.

"So, what's new at home?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't have to talk anymore about school.

"Not much," Mum replied, "It's probably more exciting at school. But I like the lack of excitement."

"It's boring without you," Matt sighed, "All Mum and Ellie do is decorate the house."

"That is boring," I said, "Haven't you already decorated it?"

"I'm just trying new things," Mum replied.

"How's work?" I asked Dad.

"Brilliant," Dad grinned and proceeded to tell me everything about his job. It was actually kind of interesting to hear all the things he did to help werewolves. Just the other day he managed to help two werewolves get jobs in Diagon Alley.

The food arrived and we were all quiet as we began to eat. Then we talked about stuff that had nothing to do with Dad's job, my school, or the Ministry. It was nice. It reminded me a lot of the carefree times we had before Matt was bitten. Well, except for the fact that we were older and in Scotland.

Matt's lycanthropy was obviously something that would never go away, but it almost seemed to be less of a worry in Britain. At least when it wasn't near the full moon. The worry was always there during that time of the month. But now, we could almost forget about it during the rest of the month. Almost.

Madam Rosmerta brought a chocolate cake to our table after we finished eating. It had fifteen candles on it and it was slathered in chocolate frosting. Just the way I liked it.

My parents and Matt sang happy birthday to me in three different off-key tunes and then I blew out the candles. I didn't wish for anything in particular; just that my family would continue to be this happy.

Dad cut the cake and handed me my piece with a grin on his face. I smiled back and took a huge bite while I waited to see how they would get me to talk.

"Guess what?" Matt turned to me as he licked frosting off his fork, "Mum let me go into your potions room the other day. I brewed something, but it melted one of your cauldrons."

I snorted into my cake. The day Mum let him into my potions room would be the day Cinda went shopping in sweat pants and an over-sized t-shirt.

Matt continued trying to get me to talk, but had no luck. I finished my cake and he groaned. He has never been able to get me to talk.

"Can I give Amy her present now?" Matt asked excitedly.

"Sure," Mum smiled and reached under the table. She handed Matt a rectangular shaped package that looked exactly like a book.

Matt gave me the present and started laughing before I even finished unwrapping it. I tore the paper off and saw that it was a book. Not just any book, though. I burst out into hysterics as I saw that it was a Muggle encyclopedia. The 'A' volume.

"He's wanted to get you that since his own birthday," Dad laughed.

It was extremely funny and clever. He probably knew he had no chance of making me talk while eating my cake, so he got me exactly what I tried to convince him my parents got him for his birthday.

"Thanks, Matt," I smiled and gave him a hug.

"And this one's from Richard and Cinda," Mum gave me a small envelope.

I slit it open and read the card. It was a standard Hallmark card with a pink birthday cake on the front. I opened it and out fell a gift card. An iTunes gift card.

"This is, er, useful," I said as I held it up.

Mum rolled her eyes. "I didn't know she got you that."

"It's ok," I shrugged, "I'll just give it to Kenzie."

"This one's from us," Mum said as she handed me a small box.

I pulled the ribbon off and unwrapped it. I lifted off the lid and gasped. It was a gold bracelet with a small charm on it. I carefully picked it up and saw that it was a tiny kangaroo carved out of some sort of wood.

"It's beautiful," I whispered as I turned the charm over in my fingers.

"It's carved out of wood from that tree you slept under our last night in Australia," Mum told me, "You'll always have a bit of Australia with you now."

"Thanks, Mum and Dad," I smiled at them. They actually realized how much I missed Australia. I never thought they noticed that. They must have planned this back when we were still there in order to get the wood. It was one of the most thoughtful things they had ever gotten me.

"You're welcome, Amy," Mum reached over and put the bracelet on my wrist. It fit perfectly.

I slid out of the booth and gave each of my parents a hug. Every once in a while they got me something that was really fitting. This was one of those things. Never in a million years would I have expected it.

We each had another piece of cake and then wandered around Hogsmeade for a bit. I showed them Honeydukes, which Matt immediately fell in love with. He didn't want to leave. Mum and Dad bought us each a huge box of every flavor chocolate frogs.

Then we went to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, where Mum flat out refused to buy me a Skiving Snackbox. It was fun looking around, though. Mostly I just enjoyed spending time with my family. I probably wouldn't see them again until the Christmas holidays.

The sun was getting lower and lower in the sky and I knew I was going to have to go back to school. Mum and Dad had started to slowly make their way towards the path.

"Healer Sterling is doing Matt's observation next full moon," Mum said quietly as we walked back to Hogwarts.

I had nearly forgotten about that. The day had been so much fun and I hadn't even thought about Matt's transformation. The day had seemed so normal. I guess everything has to go back to reality.

"At St. Mungo's?" I asked.

Mum nodded. "Yes. We'll spend the night there."

"Just, let me know how it goes," I said.

We walked silently for a few more minutes. I didn't want to go back to school and each step I took was taking me closer.

A group of people were walking towards us, heading to Hogsmeade. I groaned inwardly and hoped that I didn't know them. I immediately thought of Monica.

"Well, if it isn't Amy Eckerton," someone shouted. Sure enough, it was Monica.

"Monica," I muttered.

"Make sure you're not in the dormitory when I get back," Monica said, "We're having a party."

I ignored her and kept walking. It wasn't like I would actually want to be in the dormitory when Monica was there, especially if she was having a party.

"Who was that?" Dad asked.

"Monica Kramer," I whispered, "The one who hates werewolves."

"Seems like a pleasant girl," Dad said sarcastically.

Nobody else passed us on our way back to the castle. It got darker as we went and I figured I'd get back just as dinner began.

"I hope you had a good birthday, Amy," Mum said once we entered the castle. She gave me a tight hug.

"I did," I smiled, wishing it had lasted longer.

"We'll see you for Christmas," Dad said as he hugged me.

"Yeah," I said.

"And we'll owl you sooner than that," Mum assured me.

I nodded and then we said goodbye. Matt asked me to send him more chocolate frogs next time there was a Hogsmeaade visit, which made me laugh. I had no idea when the next visit would be, but I told him I'd send him some.

After they left, I headed into the Great Hall and ate dinner alone. Teddy and Landon found me on my way back to Gryffindor and insisted that they get a cake to eat in the common room. They disappeared for a while and then met me in the common room with a chocolate cake. I had no idea how they got it, but it was really nice of them. Victoire ate it with us, which surprised me. I would have thought that she'd be in the dormitory with Monica for whatever party they were having. The relationship between the two of them still mystified me.

******

The next few days passed quickly. I had caught up in History of Magic, but was still falling asleep regularly in class. My evenings were spent reading McGonagall's book, which fascinated me. The Voldemort era was the most interesting piece of history I had ever learned about. Both Teddy and Victoire had a lot of connections to the people involved with the war.

Teddy's dad, Remus Lupin, in particular kept my eyes glued to the pages. He had been the werewolf who attended Hogwarts, the one Dumbledore and Snape's portraits had talked about in Kendrick's study. After he left Hogwarts, he had become a part of The Order of the Phoenix, an organization that Dumbledore organized to fight Voldemort.

Lupin had taught Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts for a year, but left because everyone found out he was a werewolf. I thought that was rather unfair. But it was at the end of that year that Voldemort's most loyal servant, Peter Pettigrew, returned to Voldemort.

Lupin died during the final battle at Hogwarts, when Teddy was only a few months old. His wife, Teddy's mother, had died as well. It was a sad ending, but I was impressed as to what a successful life he had led. I was going to have to recommend the book to my parents. It might give them some hope for Matt. Sure, Teddy's dad had been on Wolfsbane, but not his entire life. And it was only a matter of time until someone created a potion that would work for Matt.

Halloween, as I found out, was a huge production at Hogwarts. There was a very large feast and the Great Hall was decked out in all sorts of spooky decorations. There were even live bats flying around and the ghosts put on a flying performance.

It was actually pretty fun. The food was even better than usual. Nobody dressed up in costumes, but Teddy turned his hair orange for the occasion. Landon immediately yelled at him for it because orange was the color of the Chudley Cannons, which apparently was a Quidditch team that Landon despised.

The first Hogwarts Quidditch match arrived in early November. It was Gryffindor versus Slytherin, which was apparently a highly anticipated match at Hogwarts. There was an increased amount of animosity between the two houses during the week that preceded the match and a few hexes as well.

I have never really been that interested in Quidditch. The matches at school in Australia had been fun because Olivia and I would always watch them together and offer our own commentary that was much more entertaining than the real commentary.

Watching Quidditch at Hogwarts was going to be different. There wasn't anyone to watch it with. I figured I'd still go since I got the feeling that if I skipped it, I would be on the receiving end of the sort of glares the Gryffindors had been giving the Slytherins all week.

I wore three jumpers underneath my cloak on the day of the match. It was a cold, windy day and I wondered how the players were able to fly in such weather. It felt like it was cold enough to snow.

The entire school went to the match. Most of the Gryffindors were decked out in as much red and gold as they could manage. Some had their faces painted and others had dyed their hair. The Slytherins were the same, except with green and silver. A fair few of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were wearing Gryffindor badges and waving Gryffindor flags. I saw very few Slytherin supporters amongst those two houses.

I wound up standing near a bunch of first and second years. A few of the second years were holding up a huge banner that said 'Go Georgia Weasley!' on it. I soon found out that she was Gryffindor's new Keeper.

The teams flew out onto the pitch a few minutes later and the commentator announced their names. I recognized Teddy, Samantha, and Georgia. The Gryffindor team received significantly more applause.

The fourteen players flew into the air and the match began. It was quite heated, with both teams earning fowls within the first fifteen minutes. It was easy to get caught up in the cheering even though I didn't know many of the players. Hogwarts students seemed to be much more into Quidditch than those in Australia.

After a half hour of play, the teams were tied at 160 points each. The Quaffle exchanged hands faster than the commentator could announce. I could barely see it. All I knew was that both teams were incredibly good.

The match continued as the weather grew steadily worse. The wind picked up and the air became even colder. I had a feeling it would rain or snow soon and hoped the match would finish soon. It was fun to watch, but no match of Quidditch would be exciting enough to make me want to stand in the rain while watching it.

All of a sudden Teddy, who had been hovering above the rest of the players, darted to the opposite end of the pitch. The Slytherin Seeker followed him, but he was meters behind. Teddy dove to the ground and pulled up a minute later holding his hand above his head. Most of the crowd burst out in applause and cheering, which drowned out the Slytherins' booing.

"Teddy Lupin has caught the Snitch!" the commentator shouted, "Gryffindor wins with 410 points!"

A good part of the crowd stormed the pitch, including the second years who had been supporting Georgia, but I turned to go back to the castle instead. The match had been enjoyable to watch, but I didn't have anyone to go congratulate on the pitch.

I was one of the first people back to the common room. A few first years had gotten there before me, but they were it. I chose one of the comfy armchairs I never got and warmed up in front of the fire.

The team returned a few minutes later and with them came most of Gryffindor. Someone had obtained a few cases of butterbeer and it was soon flowing freely.

"Butterbeer?" Landon appeared next to me, holding out a bottle.

"Thanks," I said as I took it.

"So, how did you like your first Hogwarts Quidditch match?" he asked as he sat down in the chair next to mine.

"It was, er, interesting," I laughed, "You're very enthusiastic about Quidditch here."

"Well, you saw the most highly anticipated match of the year," Landon pointed out, "The Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry is most noticeable during Quidditch."

"Not all the matches are like that?"

"Er," Landon grinned, "Most of them are exciting like that, but there are less fowls."

"So I shouldn't count on Quidditch matches for catching up on sleep?"

"Definitely not," Landon laughed.

"Teddy is a good Seeker," I commented.

"Best Gryffindor has had since Harry Potter," Landon said, "He's only lost two matches. His first one, when the Slytherin beaters slammed into him at the same time and sent him to the hospital wing unconscious. The other time was last year when he had the flu. He snuck out of the hospital wing to play, despite his high fever. Madam Pomfrey was not pleased. We lost, but he played."

"Wow," I raised my eyebrows, "That's impressive."

"Yep," Landon grinned, "He's quite devoted to Quidditch."

Landon went to go congratulate Teddy and I finished my butterbeer. After I was done I went to the library and studied for the Charms test I had on Monday. It had actually been a fun day. The Quidditch had been interesting and the library had been empty so I was able to study uninterrupted. The best part was that Monica was no where in sight. Even when I returned to the dormitory that night, she wasn't there. Victoire was, though. I had no idea where Monica was and I really didn't care.

Chapter 53: The Chudley Cannons

I failed the charms test. Miserably. Even though I spent most of the weekend studying, the test was like a foreign language. I knew I failed it even before we got the marks back the next class. The large, red 'P' written over my pathetic answers was only a reminder.

Charms has never been my best subject, but I always managed to squeeze by in Australia. Olivia and I would study for hours before the exam and then get passing marks.

Charms at Hogwarts was a different story. Professor Washburn was relentless and the way he stared at you during class made you too nervous to do anything properly. He breathed down your neck during exams as well. It was enough to make anyone too nervous to do well.

This failed exam was only one of many I had failed so far that year. I was about ready to just give up. No amount of studying seemed to help.

Studying paid off for most of my other classes, though. I spent most of my time studying since I really had nothing else to do. On any given night I was either in my dormitory studying or in the common room studying, depending on where Monica was.

The night of the full moon came around sooner than I would have liked. My parents sent me a letter the day of, telling me that they were going to St. Mungo's. Just reading that letter made my heart speed up. I got the letter at dinner, so the moon was going to rise in a little over an hour.

Doing homework was pointless after I got that letter. There would be no way I could concentrate while I was worrying about Matt. Instead, I wandered around the castle until I wound up at the Astronomy Tower.

The tower was completely deserted. Quiet, empty, with only the telescopes for company. Just the way I like it.

I sighed and sat down on the ground. The moon was nearly risen. I could see the faint light of it slowly rising above the horizon.

No matter how hard I tried, I could never imagine what it would be like to turn into a werewolf. Matt had never described it to us, so I had to use my imagination along with what I read. All I knew was that it was extremely painful.

I stayed in the Astronomy Tower until the moon rose. I stared at it for a while before realizing that it was extremely cold and shivering.

The castle was warm, but I didn't know where to go. The Astronomy Tower had been the perfect place, but it was too cold out to spend the night.

A few minutes later I found myself in front of the hospital wing. I suppose that was where I had been heading the whole time, but just hadn't realized it.

Luckily the place was empty. Madam Pomfrey was bottling potions at a table, which reminded me a lot of when Matt had been at St. Mungo's a few months ago. She looked up when I came in the room.

"Amy," she said as she set down a flask, "Are you all right? You look kind of pale."

"Well, it's the full moon," I whispered.

Madam Pomfrey walked out from behind the table and looked at me sympathetically. "You're shivering."

"I was watching the moon rise," I began, "In the Astronomy Tower."

"The Astronomy Tower?" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, "For Merlin's sake, it's below freezing out there!"

She ushered me over to the nearest bed and made me lie down in it. I could not believe my luck. All I had to do was spend a half hour outside in freezing temperatures and I could avoid sleeping in my dormitory on the worst night of the month.

Madam Pomfrey gave me a potion that immediately warmed me. Then she sat down on the bed and smoothed her robes.

"Amy," she began, "Is this going to be a usual full moon occurrence?"

I bit my bottom lip and looked down at the sheets. There was a loose thread on the blanket and I began to mess with it. It wasn't that I was consciously going to the hospital wing for every full moon. It just sort of happened.

"I don't know," I muttered, "It's just that tonight- Um, have you heard about Healer Sterling's Wolfsbane study?"

"I have," she nodded.

"My brother's in that study," I told her, "He's transforming at St. Mungo's tonight. The full moons are always worse when he transforms in new places."

"Ah," Madam Pomfrey replied, "You're worried about him."

"Yeah," I said, "I am, but it's worse tonight."

"I am sure he will be fine," she patted my leg and stood up.

I nodded and laid down on the pillow. Madam Pomfrey went back to her potions and I watched as she worked. But I wasn't tired in the slightest.

"What potions are you bottling?" I asked.

"Dreamless sleep, fever reducer, and pain potion," she answered, "The most commonly used potions."

Those were the three my parents always had on hand. "I'm going to brew those someday."

"Are you interested in potions?"

I sat up. "Yeah. I brew potions at home all the time. I make up my own stuff. It's fun."

"That is wonderful," she said, "A lot of students seem to have an extreme dislike for the subject."

"I've always liked potions," I mused as I got up and walked over to Madam Pomfrey, "They're just so interesting. The affects they have on people and stuff."

"That is a very intriguing topic," Madam Pomfrey agreed, "Would you like to help me bottle some of these?"

"Really?" I grinned, "Definitely.”

"Of course," Madam Pomfrey smiled and handed me a jug of bluish potion, "That's the-"

"Pain potion," I said.

"You certainly know your potions," Madam Pomfrey remarked.

"I bottled potions with the nurses at St. Mungo's while Matt was there a few months ago."

"You've got experience, then," she said, "What other subjects do you enjoy?"

"Astronomy," I said immediately, "That's pretty much it. Transfiguration is fun, too, but not as fun as Astronomy and Potions."

"Astronomy and Potions," the nurse mused, "Interesting combination."

I stopped pouring and looked up at her. She had a knowing smile on her face. That was the same exact thing Healer Norlam had said, but I still had no clue what he meant by it. Now Madam Pomfrey was saying the same thing.

The conversation slowly stopped and we bottled in silence. A first year came in after accidentally stabbing himself with a quill, but other than that the ward remained empty. It was relaxing and reminded me a lot of helping the nurses at St. Mungo's.

Eventually we ran out of potions to bottle and Madam Pomfrey decided to call it a night. She let me stay overnight, despite the fact that I was clearly not ill. Somehow I managed to fall asleep and I didn't wake up until morning.

******

"He fell off his broom!" someone shouted, "I think his arm's broken!"

I snapped my eyes open and saw two boys standing in the doorway. One was holding his left arm and was clearly in pain. Madam Pomfrey was ushering him to the bed across from mine.

"What were you doing playing Quidditch at seven in the morning?" she demanded.

"We were bored," the uninjured boy shrugged.

"Next time you're bored, study something," the nurse muttered.

There was no point in going back to sleep, so I got out of bed and said goodbye to Madam Pomfrey before leaving. I ran up to my dormitory and collected my books, then headed down to the Great Hall for brekkie.

I waited for Jasper or Pollux to show up with a letter from my parents all day. All throughout my classes I looked at the windows and willed one of the owls to materialize. Even during potions I was distracted, which Quinton Willinson was all too quick to point out. He was thrilled that he was able to tell me that I was stirring my potion in the wrong direction. I had a feeling he would lord that over me for the remainder of the year.

If someone asked me what Binns talked about during History of Magic, the most specific topic I'd be able to tell them was history. Everything he said just went in one ear and out the other. It was worse than usual. My eyes focused on the window to my right rather than his ghostly form.

Herbology was just as bad since the greenhouses are obviously all windows. Luckily, Laney Hall was oblivious to my distractedness and kept chattering on and on about something I didn't even remember.

By the time I was done with classes, I was about ready to break into one of the teachers' studies to floo to St. Mungo's. I was sure Matt was still there. Why else would my parents not send me a letter?

I was putting my books away in my dormitory and contemplating how I could sneak into someone's study when Jasper finally showed up. He flew into the room and I snatched the letter from his leg a little more aggressively than I should have. Jasper hooted his dislike and flew off again before I could give him an owl treat.

Dear Amy,

Sorry for the late letter. Hope
you weren't too worried. We've
been occupied with the tests
Sterling has been doing on Matt.

We'll explain more about the tests
when you come home for Christmas.
It's a bit much to put into a letter.

Matt is doing all right. The
transformation was a bit rough, as was
expected. But after a few days' rest,
he'll be fine.

We left the hospital around noon and
are back home now.

Let us know how your classes are going
and everything else about life at
Hogwarts.

Love,
Mum, Dad, Matt, and Ellie

I breathed a sigh of relief as I put the letter in my pocket. They were just preoccupied with the tests, that was all. Matt wasn't much worse than usual.

He only had one more transformation until the study began. I wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen with that. Hopefully my parents would tell me once I went home.

I collapsed onto my bed. Another full moon was gone. We survived one more. I was finally beginning to understand what my parents went through each month. I may never completely understand what Matt goes through, but I was beginning to understand my parents' worry. How could they stand it each month?

How much longer would we have to go through it? Would Matt have to go through it? Sterling's study would have to help. People were working on new forms of Wolfsbane and on cures, weren't they? Someone would find something eventually. Then maybe I wouldn't be waiting anxiously for a letter from my parents each month.

******

November turned into December with the same monotony that the past few months had brought. I studied, argued with Willinson, avoided Monica, and failed another Charms exam.

The only real difference between November and December was the amount of snow that covered the grounds. The grounds began to resemble those of the Adirondack Academy of Magic during the time we visited. Only now it was never ending. I wasn't just visiting the snowy place, I lived there.

It was just so strange to have snow in December. In Australia, December is one of the warmest months and it never ever snows. Christmas is spent going swimming and holding outdoor celebrations. Those days were long over for me. Christmas would now be spent inside with a crackling fire.

I do like snow. It's fun to play in and very beautiful. But I really didn't see the point in holding classes outside during a raging blizzard. Why couldn't Hagrid just get a classroom so we wouldn't have to freeze our arses off? I was so cold during Care of Magical Creatures that I couldn't focus at all on what we were learning. And judging by the other students' reactions, holding Care of Magical Creatures during snow storms was a normal occurrence.

Much to my relief, the snow seemed to let up for the December Hogsmeade visit. Not that I was as excited about it as the rest of the students, since I had no one to go with, but I did want to get my Christmas shopping done.

I left the castle before the rest of my roommates were even awake. Well, I had heard Victoire moving around in her bed, so she was probably awake, but the rest of them were sound asleep.

The walk to Hogsmeade was relaxing. The snow crunching beneath my feet was the only noise. A very small amount of snow was falling; enough to be noticeable, but not so much that the walk would be unbearable.

I had finally learned how to bundle up properly for the cold weather, so I was comfortable. Although I had a feeling that after I had walked around Hogsmeade for a half hour or so, I'd be ready for a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. Or the Hog's Head.

My first stop was Honeyduke's, which was mostly filled with third years and a few students my age. I guessed that most of the older students were still sleeping.

I bought an assortment of chocolates and other sweets for Matt and a few for myself as well before leaving the shop. Chocolate was always the best way to go when buying presents for Matt. Or me for that matter. I figured I'd get him something at the Quidditch shop as well. He's always liked Quidditch.

My parents were a different story, especially Mum. Every year I went through the same ritual. Looking through every store, trying to find the perfect gift. Nothing ever seemed right, although I knew my parents would like whatever I got them.

Dad's present was the first one I found. It was a name block for his desk. His old one said 'Head of the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures' on it, so it was useless for his new job. I didn't think Mum had boughten him a new one yet, so I got one at Scrivenshaft's.

Mum was more difficult, but I decided on a scarf. She only had one and it wasn't the most fashionable of things. She wasn't big on fashion, but I thought a red and gold scarf was nicer than the boring grey one she had. Plus, it was Gryffindor colored.

I decided to have a Butterbeer before going to the Quidditch shop, but the Three Broomsticks was yet again so crowded that there was barely room to move. Two minutes after I entered, I left and went to the Hog's Head.

"You again," the barkeep grunted as I walked in the door.

"Yeah," I said as I sat down at the bar and set my bags down on the floor.

"Something wrong with Rosmerta's place?"

"Too crowded," I muttered.

"Tends to happen during Hogsmeade visits," he said as he handed me a Butterbeer.

"Thanks," I replied.

I sipped my Butterbeer in silence as I watched the barkeep putter around with a goat following him. The whole 'goat in the bar' thing still puzzled me, but the last thing I wanted to do was ask him about it.

Two cloaked men eyed me suspiciously as they sat down a few stools away and I took that as my cue to leave. I paid for my drink and the barkeep muttered goodbye as I left.

The Quidditch shop was a little ways down the road. I had never been to it before. There were a few brooms in the window and a large sign above it said 'The Quaffle Shop'. I certainly hoped the place sold more than brooms and Quaffles.

It was filled with students talking about Quidditch and I hardly understood any of it. I began to browse around, not really knowing what I was looking for. They certainly didn't have any Australian team products.

"Amy?" someone said to the left of me.

I turned to see Samantha Meyers looking at me curiously. "Oh, hi Samantha."

"I had no idea you liked Quidditch," she said, "Didn't you say you weren't a Quidditch person?"

"Erm, I'm actually here to get my little brother a Christmas present," I told her.

"What sort of present are you looking for?" she asked.

"I don't know," I sighed.

"Does he play Quidditch?"

I had to stifle my laughter at that. Matt was lucky if he could walk without tripping over his own feet, let alone fly a broom. Not to mention the fact that my parents were so strict with 'dangerous' things anyway.

"No, he just likes to watch matches."

"What team does he support?"

"Australia," I said, "But there obviously isn't any of that stuff here."

"Right," Samantha grinned, "So he needs a new team to support. Puddlemere United is a good team. So are the Ballycastle Bats. I personally support the Holyhead Harpies."

"How about this team?" I gestured to a very bright orange jersey that said 'The Chudley Cannons' in big black letters.

Samantha burst out laughing. "The Cannons? They're a joke. Haven't won a match in years. Their motto is 'let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best'. That pretty much sums them up."

"So it's a team full of uncoordinated Quidditch players?" I asked.

"Yeah," Samantha giggled, "That's pretty much it."

"That's perfect," I grinned. A team consisting of Quidditch players who were like Matt.

Samantha stared at me like I had three heads. "All right. If you say so." She raised her eyebrows at me and then wandered away towards the Holyhead Harpies merchandise.

I grabbed the jersey in the smallest size they had, which I think was still too big for Matt and bought it. I really had no idea if he would actually like it, but it was worth a try. He did need a British team to support. And if what Samantha said was true, the Cannons needed all the support they could get.

The snow had picked up and my face was blasted with tiny crystals of ice after I left the Quaffle Shop, so I decided to just head back to Hogwarts. I had done everything I needed to do in Hogsmeade anyway.

Despite the storm, a lot of students were outside on the grounds. Most were having snowball fights, but a few were building snow wizards.

The dormitory was empty when I got there so I quickly stowed my gifts in my trunk and grabbed my books. Studying never seemed to end.

******

"Amy!" Slughorn shouted as I went to leave the Potions classroom the following week. I turned around and went back to his desk. Willinson was standing in front of it as well.

"I'm holding a Christmas party," Slughorn said excitedly, "This Friday. I know you've been too busy to attend the most recent Slug Club meeting, but I do hope you can make it to the party."

"You should come," Willinson drawled, "Perhaps I can show you how to properly stir a potion."

I rolled my eyes. He wasn't ever going to let that go. "I'll think about it."

"Harry Potter himself will be there!" Slughorn continued.

I nodded and left as quickly as I could. The party sounded interesting, but I had been trying to avoid the Slug Club since Willinson attended.

The more I thought about the party, the more I sort of wanted to go. I kind of wanted to meet Harry Potter and I had nothing else to do that night.

I wound up going, since Monica was holding a party of her own in our dormitory. She and Victoire had quite the fight about it. Monica wanted Victoire to attend her party, but Victoire wanted to go to the Slug Club party since her entire family was going. Monica had not been invited.

I arrived later than the party started not because Cinda had taught me to be fashionably late, but because I wanted to slip in unnoticed. The more time I could spend avoiding Willinson, the better.

The dungeon the party was held in was packed. I hardly recognized anyone and there weren't only students there. A fair amount of adults were there along with little kids. A good portion of them had red hair, which I took to mean they were related to Victoire.

I squeezed my way through the crowd and eventually made it to the food table. I avoided the pheasant and went with the chicken and potatoes. Then I maneuvered to the back wall and watched everyone else as I ate.

Teddy was entertaining a bunch of red-haired kids by changing his hair and face. I almost snorted pumpkin juice out my nose when he turned his nose into a duck beak.

Slughorn was talking with Professor Kendrick and a very old strict looking witch. She looked very familiar and then I realized that she looked just like the picture of the witch who wrote The Rise and Fall of Lord Voldemort. She was Minerva McGonagall.

"You came," a voice said to the right of me.

It was Willinson. I groaned inwardly. "I did."

"The Christmas parties are always good," Willinson said, "Better than the regular meetings. All sorts of famous people come. My father is here."

"Really," I said flatly. I couldn't care less if Willinson's father was famous enough to attend the Slug Club Christmas party or not.

"Yes, he works for the Ministry," Willinson went on.

"Good for him," I muttered.

"What are you getting for Christmas?" Willinson asked, "My father is getting me a larger gold cauldron. The one I have now is far too small."

"My parents prefer to surprise me on Christmas," I said.

Willinson continued talking about what he was getting for Christmas, but I paid no attention. I had just spotted Harry Potter. But what surprised me even more was the witch he was talking with. She was the same witch who we had seen at the Auror office. The one with the three little kids.

The kids were there as well. The two boys were throwing pieces of biscuit at each other and the little girl was trying to catch the biscuits.

Harry picked up the little girl and gave him one of his own biscuits. He put his free arm around the witch. She must be his wife. The boys ran off and joined the group of kids surrounding Teddy.

"What did you get on the last Potions exam?" Willinson asked.

"An O."

"Me, too," he said.

I managed to shake Willinson by telling him I had to use the toilet, but instead disappeared into the crowd. I didn't really know what to do. The only people I actually knew were Teddy, Landon, and Victoire, but I didn't know them well enough to hang out with. They were busy anyway. Victoire was talking with a Ravenclaw from our year and Landon was with Teddy and the little kids.

Nor did I have the nerve to go meet Harry Potter. What was I going to say? 'I just read all about your life and it turns out I saw your wife and kids at the Auror office and your daughter had no idea what my brother's crutches were?' That would be kind of awkward.

Eventually I just decided to leave. There wasn't anything else to do. I had eaten my fill and didn't want to risk running into Willinson again.

Monica was still holding her party in our dormitory, so I read in the common room while watching the younger students goof around. I was looking forward to the end of term, when I could go home and feel free to go wherever I pleased in my house.

Chapter 54: Shopping With Mum

The remaining week of term passed by at such a slow rate it felt like it was a month instead of a week. Everyone was anxious for a break and that only became more apparent as the week passed. Even the teachers seemed excited for the holidays. This caused most of them to ease up on homework and give more leeway when it came to detention. Not Professor Washburn, though. He assigned twice as much homework and judging by how Teddy and a few of the Weasley cousins returned to the dormitory just before curfew every night, he had not eased up on detentions either.

I was very relieved when term finally ended and I was able to pack my stuff and leave Hogwarts for a few short weeks. My roommates were in high spirits as we packed that Saturday morning. Monica happened to be staying at school over the holidays, but everyone else was going home.

Monica and I had come to an unspoken agreement to not talk and not be in the same room as each other if that was possible. This meant that when she was in the dormitory, I was not. Unfortunately, this did not go the other way. When Monica entered the dormitory, I left.

I managed to find an empty compartment on the train. It was slightly less crowded than it had been going to school since not everyone went home for the holidays. I only hoped that nobody would join me.

The ride was very uneventful. I slept for half of it and was then woken up by the sounds of two first years dueling outside my compartment. Landon quickly broke it up and I read for the rest of the trip.

My eyes scanned the words, but I didn't really comprehend what I was reading. My mind was on Christmas and what it would be like this year. Christmas had been the same in my family for the past few years. A quiet celebration with Richard and Cinda.

What would it be like this year? I stared at the swirling snow outside my window and shivered. Christmas was warm and sunny, not cold and snowy. Christmas was spent barbecuing and playing outside.

I've heard Muggle Christmas carols about 'white Christmases'. Muggles in the North (and probably witches and wizards, too) loved white Christmases. They wanted snow to fall on that particular day. They got excited when they woke up on the 25th to a blanket of white snow covering their yards.

That wasn't Christmas to me. It never had been and I was sure it never would be. I could not imagine opening Christmas gifts while watching a snow storm. It just wasn't normal.

The train slowed to a stop and I shoved my book in my bag. I joined the throngs of students in the corridor and slowly made my way out of the train.

Dad was standing on the platform and I started running as soon as I saw him. I ran right into him and hugged him tightly. I didn't care if it made me look like a homesick first year.

"Amy," Dad hugged me back, "Are you all right?"

"Let's just go home," I said.

Dad nodded and with a crack we disappeared from the platform. Mere seconds later we were in the bush behind our house.

We traipsed silently through the snow towards our house. I didn't know what to say. I hadn't told my parents much in my letters lately. Just superficial stuff like who exploded what in Potions and which professor had given out the most detentions. I didn't know how to tell them that I hated Hogwarts. They seemed so happy in England.

Matt ran into me as soon as I opened the door. I dropped my bag and picked him up. He was looking well considering the full moon had been a few days ago.

"Matt," I said as I carried him into the kitchen, "How are you?"

"Good," he replied, "I'm glad you're home. It's dead boring without you."

Mum and Dad really needed to let him have some friends or go to Muggle school or something. Like that would ever happen, though.

"Amy!" Mum set down the pan she was washing and strode over to me. I set Matt down on a stool and hugged Mum.

"How was the remainder of term?" she asked.

"Er, it was ok," I said quickly, "Nothing exciting. Just glad to be home."

"I'm glad to have you home," Mum replied, "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Go take your stuff upstairs and wash up."

Matt followed me up to my room and sat on my bed as I put all my stuff away. Well, I dumped out my bag and threw the dirty laundry in the hamper, leaving everything else on the floor. That was my definition of 'putting stuff away'.

Mum and Ellie had cooked my favorite dinner again. It was like when I had gone home from the Australian School of Sorcery for the last time. It was hard to believe that that was already a whole year ago. Somehow, it felt like it had been ages since then, but that it had gone by fast at the same time.

Everyone wanted to hear about school, so I told them about Slughorn's party and how Harry Potter had been there. Then I told them that the family we had seen at the Auror headquarters was Harry Potter's family. Mum and Dad just sighed at this and Matt asked if I had gotten to meet him. He was kind of disappointed that I didn't.

"We need to talk to you two about Christmas," Dad said quietly after I ran out of somewhat upbeat things to talk about.

Here it comes, I thought. How things would be different here. "Ok," I muttered.

"Your grandparents have invited us to their house for Christmas," Dad began.

I spat out the milk that I had been drinking and started coughing. We were going to Richard and Cinda's for Christmas? We hadn't ever done that! That meant we'd be spending Christmas in Australia! Maybe this Christmas wouldn't be as weird as I had originally thought.

Mum handed me a napkin and slapped me on the back. "We're going to Australia for Christmas?" I asked once I stopped coughing.

"We haven't decided yet," Mum told me, "There are a few options to consider."

"What's to consider? Christmas would be weird up here. It'll be cold and snowy. If we go to Richard and Cinda's, it can be almost like we still live in Australia."

"The thing is, Amy," Dad began, "It might be a good idea for us to start our own traditions up here. If we spend this Christmas with your grandparents, they're going to expect us to spend every Christmas with them."

"Is that necessarily a bad thing, Walter?" Mum raised her eyebrow at him.

"Er, well, I just meant that we should start new traditions here," Dad told her, "I never said we shouldn't go."

"We haven't seen them in a long time," Mum pointed out.

"Why don't we invite them here?" Dad suggested.

"You know they hate the cold," Mum said, "And Amy wants to go visit Australia."

If I had been drinking my milk at that point, I would have spat it out again. I gawked at Mum. Was she really considering what I wanted? I wasn't sure since she hadn't done that in well, ever.

"All right, let's get the kids' opinion on this," Dad said and turned to us, "What do you two want to do?"

I was beginning to think someone had Imperiused my parents while I was at school. Not only was Mum considering doing something that I wanted to do, Dad was asking my opinion on something.

"I want to go to Australia," I said once I recovered from the shock, "We've spent every Christmas there since forever. Why stop now?"

Dad nodded. "Matt?"

"I don't want to go," Matt said as he stared down at his plate and twirled his spaghetti around, "I don't ever want to go back there."

I groaned inwardly. That was it. Christmas would be spent in England. Matt's opinions always trumped mine, no matter what. Nothing I could do would change it.

My parents glanced at each other and nobody said anything for a few moments. The only sound that could be heard was Matt's fork clinking against his plate. He wasn't eating, though. His head was resting in his other hand and he was staring at the table.

"We should stay here," Dad said quietly.

"I think we should talk about this in private," Mum said and got up from the table.

Dad nodded and the two of them walked quietly out of the room. The tension could be cut with a wand. I waited a few minutes before dashing out of the room myself and running up to my bedroom to find my Extendable Ears. They were buried in the bottom of my desk drawer, right where I had put them after we moved.

Mum and Dad had locked themselves in Dad's study, but didn't put any silencing charms on the door. I wondered how long it would take for them to figure out I was listening in on their conversations.

"Do you have anymore of those?" Matt whispered as I shoved the Extendable into my ear.

"I don't know, go look in the bottom drawer of my desk," I said quickly.

Matt left and I poked the other end of the Extendable towards the crack below the door.

"Why do you want to go to Australia so badly?" Dad asked.

"They're my parents, Walter!" Mum said, "I've spent practically every Christmas with them!"

Now I was positive that someone had Imperiused my parents. Mum still wanted to go to Australia even though Matt didn't. I would have been less surprised if trolls figured out how to overtake wizards. I wondered who I would talk to at the Ministry to figure out who had Imperiused my parents. Someone in the Auror department? Maybe I should ask Victoire to talk to Harry Potter about it.

"Matt's scared to go back there," Dad said, "Can't you see that?"

"Of course I see that!" Mum snapped, "I see it every time someone mentions the word 'Australia'! Do you know how hard that is, Walter? To have your son be afraid to go visit his grandparents? Your family's left Australia; you don't have to deal with this. I do!"

"They can just visit us," Dad said, "And I know it's hard. There's nothing easy about this entire situation."

"They refuse to visit when it's cold!" Mum said.

"You know what, this isn't even about your parents," Dad replied, "It's about Matt-"

There's a surprise, I thought. Everything was about him.

"He's too scared to go," Dad continued.

"I know, I know," Mum said, "Do you know what I've been doing when you're at work?"

"What?" Dad asked, clearly bewildered at the change in topics.

"I've been reading all the psychology books Norlam lent us," Mum said quietly, "And do you know what?"

"What?" Dad asked.

"We've been babying him," Mum sighed, "All his life. We've tried to protect him from everything. Every problem he's had, we fix it. Never once have we let him figure things out for himself. Not once, Walt, not once!"

I was stunned. Completely and utterly stunned. What had I missed while I was at Hogwarts? Mum was reading psychology books and finally realizing that she had been treating Matt like a baby and giving in to his ever whim. The world was definitely coming to an end. It was time to just grab my wand and brace for whatever was destroying the earth.

"We've been doing this wrong. We have to stop. We can't baby him anymore," Mum choked. It sounded like she was starting to cry.

"We haven't done it wrong," Dad said quietly, "Those books aren't a one size fits all. He's different and always has been. We can't treat him like any other kid. We can't raise him like we raised Amy."

"Jack does," Mum said.

"Jack's his uncle," Dad replied, "Jack's the one he's supposed to go to when he wants to complain about how strict we are or do something fun that we won't let him do. Jack's not the one who raises him. That's us."

"I guess you're right," Mum said, "But when I think about how we raised Amy at that age and compare them... Well, it's just so different! Why did we change so much?"

"Circumstances, Julie," Dad sighed, "And it's not just the lycanthropy thing. It's not just that he was premature or gets sick a lot. He's so different from Amy. Sometimes it astounds me how different they are. Amy's so, so, stubborn and defiant."

This was getting interesting. The Sickles I paid for these Extendable Ears were really paying off.

"But she's got this uncrushable spirit and passion for the things she loves. I haven't the slightest idea what she's going to do with her life, but whatever it is, she's going to succeed at it. She's going to be in the history books one day. I guarantee it."

I couldn't help but grin at that. Stubborn and defiant weren't exactly words I wanted to be used to describe me, but Dad had certainly made up for it. Did he really think that? He must have. I sort of wished I'd known he thought that about me earlier.

"That, well, describes Amy perfectly," Mum giggled, "I never really thought about her stubbornness that way before, but I suppose it could be a good thing someday."

"It will," Dad said, "And Matt is so quiet and thoughtful. He's the one who knows what you need without you saying a word. He's so shy, but sweet. The one thing he has in common with Amy is that uncrushable spirit. Look at what he's been through. But he's still happy. He may be scared, but he's happy."

"I can't help but wonder if we contributed to his shyness," Mum said, "We kept him so isolated. Is it our fault?"

"It's the nature versus nurture question," Dad mused, "Constantly debated, but never answered. And it never will be. Is shyness inherited or is it developed throughout life?"

"I just can't help but wonder if he would be so scared if we had just let him experience life the way we let Amy."

Experience life? I never really thought about them babying Matt as not letting him experience life.

"I don't think so," Dad said, "If Amy had gone through what he went through, she'd be scared too."

"I guess," Mum sighed, "Anyway, I was also reading how to get over fears. You'll never get over fears if you don't face them. It's like what Norlam did with his fear of strangers. He just has to face it. If he doesn't go to Australia, he's not going to get over the fear."

Both of them were silent for so long that I thought the Extendable Ear wasn't working anymore.

"Julie," Dad began, "I, I think you may be right. We should go to Australia."

"Thank you," Mum said quietly, "I know it's hard. Believe me, making him go there is going to break my heart. But we have to do it."

"I suppose we'll have to go tell him," Dad said.

"Yes, we will," Mum replied and I heard footsteps coming closer.

I stood up and nearly ran into Matt. I had forgotten he had been in my room searching for Extendable Ears.

"I can't find them," he sighed.

"Doesn't matter," I said as I hastily shoved my own Extendable into my pocket, "They're done talking."

"What did they say?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Matt looked at me curiously and opened his mouth to most likely ask what I was talking about, but the door to the study opened. Mum and Dad both had hardened expressions and Dad motioned for us to go inside.

Dad's study didn't look much different in England than it had in Australia. It was still a complete mess. The only difference was that there were less books in it, since most of our books now resided in the library.

I sat down on a overly stuffed worn leather armchair and Matt sat down on the ottoman in front of it. Mum leaned against Dad's desk and Dad just stood in front of us.

"We've decided what we're doing for Christmas," Dad said slowly, "We're going to Richard and Cinda's as soon as I can get plane tickets."

I smiled even though I already knew that we were going to Australia. It was nice to hear it officially.

"I don't want to go," Matt sniffed, "Don't make me go there." He got up and ran to Mum, throwing his arms around her.

Don't cave, Mum, don't cave, I thought. He was wearing that pathetic face he always wore when he wanted my parents to give in to him.

"I c-can't g-go," Matt cried.

"I know you don't want to," Mum said, "But we have to. We can't never go back. Richard and Cinda live there."

"D-dad?" Matt looked at Dad.

Dad just shook his head. Matt let go of Mum and ran crying out of the room. Mum and Dad looked at each other. It looked like Mum was about to cry herself.

I just sat on the chair, not sure of what to do. Never had I seen Matt storm out of a room like that. He never got mad at my parents and my parents hardly ever got mad at him. I had run out of rooms plenty of times. Probably so many times that my parents expected it, but Matt hadn't ever done it.

Both of my parents seemed at a loss of what to do. It was kind of funny, in a weird way. After fifteen plus years of parenting, neither of them knew what to do. Heck, I could have told them what to do. Just leave him alone.

"Should we-" Mum began.

"Go find him?" Dad finished.

I rolled my eyes. They were just going to have to figure this out on their own. I doubted they wanted my advice.

I got up from the chair and muttered that I was going to bed. Who knew how this was going to turn out, but I was too tired to find out. I'd know in the morning anyway. It had been a very strange and somewhat exhausting day.

******

Mum and Dad were up half the night talking to Matt. I could hear them from my room. They didn't even try to conceal their whispering. I was beginning to think that living in such a small house had its advantages. However, I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying and I was too tired to bother using the Extendables.

I was up early the next morning and went down to brekkie to find my parents whispering at the table over steaming mugs of coffee. They both immediately stopped talking when I entered and looked up at me. The two of them had identical looks of exhaustion on their faces.

"We're still going to Australia, right?" I asked.

"Yes," Dad nodded, "I bought the tickets a little while ago. We're leaving tomorrow at eight-thirty in the morning."

I breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, I was surprised they hadn't caved yet. With the looks Matt was sending them the day before, I would have expected them to say we weren't ever going to Australia again.

"Where's Matt?" I asked, "Still sleeping?"

Mum nodded. "He didn't fall asleep until late."

"Richard and Cinda aren't planning any parties, are they?" I asked as I poured myself a bowl of cereal.

"No," Mum replied, "I told them we wouldn't come if they were throwing any parties. Cinda reluctantly agreed not to. But I think they're going to invite the Dawe's for New Year's."

"Brilliant," I grinned and sat down. No parties and I would get to spend time with Kenzie!

"Would you like to go with me to London today?" Mum asked, "I've got to get gifts for Richard, Cinda, and the Dawe's."

"Sure," I said, surprised that she had asked. Usually Mum did all her shopping alone or with Ellie, "Are Dad and Matt going?"

My parents exchanged glances. "No," Dad shook his head, "Healer Norlam is actually coming over this afternoon, to talk to Matt about going to Australia."

"We talked to him earlier," Mum said, "He thinks Matt needs to get used to not being around me all the time, so just Dad will be there during the session."

Ah, an ulterior motive. That was why Mum was taking only me to London. Part of me thought this was just slightly unfair, that I only got to do things alone with her when they benefited Matt. But alone time with Mum happened so rarely that I pushed the thought aside.

I finished my cereal and then went back up to my room to get dressed. Mum wasn't leaving for London until later, so I wrapped my own gifts until she was ready.

Matt woke up shortly before we left and gave both of us very long hugs as we were leaving. Dad had to pry him off of Mum.

We Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, but went out into Muggle London instead of Diagon Alley. It was chilly, but not unbearably cold and there were a few snowflakes falling.

Mum knew exactly what to get Cinda. There was this really expensive store in downtown London that didn't exist in Australia. Mum wanted to buy Cinda a purse from there.

As soon as I walked in the door I knew it was the kind of place Cinda would like. The walls, floor, ceiling, and furniture were all white. Displays of purses, scarves, and other accessories were everywhere. A saleslady descended upon us and asked if we needed assistance. Mum said no and went straight to one of the purse displays.

"People buy these?" I exclaimed as I looked at the price tag on a brown leather bag. I didn't know much about the British Muggle money system, but 200 pounds seemed like a lot for a purse.

"Yes," Mum laughed, "Surprisingly they do."

"If someone ever bought me one, I'd sell it and buy a solid gold cauldron," I whispered.

"Your father once told me that he would buy a Quidditch team if he had all the money Cinda has spent on clothing and accessories," Mum said.

"He could buy a couple teams," I replied.

"What do you think of this one?" Mum held up a mint green purse with a brown leather strap and silver accents.

"It would match her green pants suit," I said, "But it's got silver on it."

"It's not real silver," Mum explained.

"Seriously? They're charging that much for it and it's not even real silver?" I gaped.

"Yes," Mum laughed and put the purse back, "Maybe I'll go with something more neutral."

I nodded, although Cinda seemed quite the opposite of neutral. I looked through the purses with Mum, but had no idea what I was looking for.

Eventually Mum found a black leather one with silver accents and a matching wallet. The wallet cost nearly as much as the purse. She bought them from the very cheery saleslady and we left the shop.

Mum knew exactly what she wanted to get Richard, too. It was a specific type of golf club. Well, Mum didn't quite remember the model number, so she had to describe it to the salesman at the sporting goods shop. He knew exactly what she was talking about and was very excited about selling it to her. I assumed this was because the price tag on it was nearly as much as Cinda's purse.

We ate lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Mum kept trying to ask me about school, but I changed the subject each time. Eventually she gave up and lunch was really enjoyable.

"What do you think we should get for Kenzie and her family?" I asked as we finished lunch.

"I don't know. Any ideas?" Mum replied.

"Chocolate?" I suggested.

Mum laughed. "That's what you'd want."

"No, really, there's some chocolate at Honeyduke's that you'd never know was magical. Except that it tastes magical, but they'll just think it's the best chocolate in the world. We'll just tell them it's chocolate you can only get in England."

"That's," Mum paused and smiled, "Actually a very good idea."

"Thanks," I smiled, "But Honeyduke's is only in Hogsmeade. We'll have to go there."

"That's all right. We've got time."

Mum paid for lunch and then we Apparated to Hogsmeade. The little village looked like it came from a Muggle Christmas card. It was much snowier than London and quieter.

Honeyduke's, on the other hand, was as crowded as it was during a Hogsmeade visit. The same clientèle, too. I recognized at least twenty Hogwarts students, although none of them acknowledged me.

It didn't take long to find a large supply of 'Muggle safe' Honeyduke's chocolate. Nobody else seemed to be buying it. Mum bought so much that most people would think it would last a month, but it would probably only last a few days. If it even made it to Australia, that is. If Matt saw it, he'd probably eat it himself. I pointed this out to Mum and she grabbed a large box of Chocolate Frogs for us.