In Moonlight's Shadow

Chapter 55: Christmas in Australia

Healer Norlam was still at the house when we returned. Mum told me to go up to my room and stay there until she said I could leave. This didn't surprise me in the slightest.

What did surprise me was the amount of time I had to stay up there. An hour passed and Mum still hadn't told me I could come out. I was beginning to think they just forgot. How long could it possibly take for Mum to talk with Norlam?

I was contemplating using the Extendable Ear and finding out what they were talking about, when Mum knocked on my door. I told her to come in and she walked inside, looking much more worn out than she had earlier.

"Dad and I have decided to see Healer Norlam on a regular basis," Mum said as she sat down on my bed.

I sat down next to her. "What do you mean? Like what Matt did over the summer?"

"Sort of," Mum said, "We have some issues to work through and we think Norlam can help."

"Wait, you're not having marriage issues, are you?" I asked anxiously. I had seen sitcoms on the television at Kenzie's house and married couples who were thinking of divorce went to see psychologists.

"No, nothing like that," she assured me, "Don't worry. Dad and I are perfectly happy together. Mainly, we want to work on our parenting techniques."

"Oh," I breathed a sigh of relief. This was about what they talked about the previous night. But they weren't to know that I knew about that.

"We just wanted you to know," Mum said as she stood up, "And if you could pack for the trip soon, I'd appreciate it."

I nodded as she left. Mum and Dad in therapy. I wasn't sure what I thought about that. What sort of parenting techniques were they going to learn? Were they just going to change the way they parented Matt, or would it affect me too?

The remainder of the day was very quiet. We ate dinner in silence and it was hard to tell whether Matt was still mad at Mum and Dad. Although, I'm not sure mad was the right term. Matt just sort of sat in a stunned silence throughout the meal. He methodically ate his food, but never said a word or moved much. In fact, it reminded me of what he was like after Lubar kidnapped him.

I didn't get much sleep that night. I tossed and turned the whole night, no longer that excited about going to Australia. It was almost like Matt's fear was haunting me. I couldn't muster an ounce of excitement after seeing how scared he still was.

The next morning was just a duplicate of the previous night. Silence, fatigue, and going through the motions. I wondered how long it would go on. I had been expecting the Christmas holiday to be exciting and a nice break from school, but so far it hadn't been that.

We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare before our flight left. Going through security had become so much of a habit that it no longer fazed me. It just took a very long time. Mum and Dad whispered to each other the whole time and Matt clung to Mum like she was going to side-along Apparate with him at any moment.

It was almost a relief to get on the plane. Matt refused to sit anywhere besides next to Mum, so I sat with Dad behind them. He let me have the aisle seat.

"Are Richard and Cinda picking us up?" Dad leaned forward and asked Mum.

"Yes," Mum said.

That was the only amount of discussion between them throughout the entire flight. It didn't seem like they were mad at each other, more like they were worried. I couldn't really blame them. Matt had yet to say anything the entire day.

I slept most of the flight. Luckily it was a very smooth trip without much turbulence. We arrived in Australia only a half hour later than scheduled.

It was very strange to be back in Australia. I got this weird feeling in my stomach as soon as we left the plane that had nothing to do with the flight. Nearly six months had passed since I was last in Australia. I swallowed hard as we went through security. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I wasn't going to want to leave.

"Julie!" Cinda, dressed in a sky blue pants suit, ran as fast as her spiky heels could carry her towards us, "You're here!"

"We're here," Mum smiled wearily. Cinda threw her arms around her in a very un-Cinda like manner. This looked kind of awkward since Mum was carrying Matt.

"Walter," Richard stuck out his hand.

"Richard," Dad shook it.

"Good flight?"

"It was all right," Dad replied.

"Amy!" Cinda let go of Mum and flung her arms around me, "How is your new school? How are the kids there?"

"School's all right," I shrugged.

The one good thing about Cinda's personality was that short, ambiguous answers satisfied her. She asked nothing else about school and began to fill Mum in on all the gossip as we walked to the car. It was like nothing had changed since we moved. If I tried really hard, I could pretend we hadn't even moved in the first place and were just returning from a long holiday.

"I just couldn't believe it!" Cinda exclaimed as we drove back to their house, "Pregnant! At her age!"

"How are Breanne and Carmine taking it?" Mum asked.

Cinda had just explained that Breanne's mum was pregnant. I was surprised, but didn't really care. Breanne's mum wasn't that nice of a person.

"They don't care," Cinda replied, "Apparently when she told them about it, Breanne just asked if the new baby would get her own nanny or if Carmine's nanny would take care of the baby."

Classic Breanne, I thought. I just hoped I wouldn't have to see her while I was in Australia.

The gossip continued until we reached the house. It may have went on longer than that, but I escaped to my pink bedroom.

It looked exactly the same as it had before I left. I doubted Richard and Cinda had even gone in it. I was sure they would leave it that way forever, since they had so many other rooms. Matt's room probably looked the same, too, although I had my doubts as to whether he would use it while we were there.

Cinda informed me that Kenzie was spending Christmas at her grandparents' house and wouldn't be back until after. I didn't dare bring up the possibility of visiting Olivia. Maybe over the summer, if my parents had worked through their parenting issues by then.

The Christmas holiday at Richard and Cinda's wasn't much different than it had been at home. The only difference was that Cinda filled in the silence with gossip and the occasional question about England.

Matt hardly ever left Mum's side. It seemed that being in Australia wasn't doing anything to ebb his fears. I would have thought that after two days of being there would give him a bit of reassurance that nothing was going to happen, but it didn't.

Christmas Eve came and I realized that we hadn't even gotten a Christmas tree. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about it.

"Where are we getting the tree from?" I asked at lunch.

"Er, I'm not sure," Dad glanced at Richard.

"There's a tree farm a few miles away," Richard told him, "We always used to get trees there when Julie was little."

"A tree farm?" I sighed. That wasn't nearly as fun as going into the bush and cutting one down yourself.

"They have cut your own trees," Richard said, "It's like a bush, only the trees are all in rows and were planted by people."

"All right," I said resignedly. It was better than nothing.

"We'll go as soon as we're done eating. It'll be fun," Richard said.

"I don't want to go," Matt mumbled. He had been picking at his food and not really eating. It was strange since he could usually eat a hippogriff when it wasn't around the full moon.

"You'll be safe," Mum assured him, "It's a Muggle place. Nobody will know you."

"No, I don't feel good," he said.

Mum immediately put her hand on his forehead. "You don't feel warm."

"He's probably just overly tired," Dad said quietly, "I don't think he's slept more than ten hours since we got here."

"You're right," Mum sighed.

"Can't you just give him that potion that makes you fall asleep?" Cinda asked.

"Couldn't bring it on the plane," Mum explained, "Couldn't transfigure it into something normal either. Transfiguration of potions changes their effectiveness."

"We're going to have to go buy some," Dad said.

"No place is open on Christmas Eve," Mum pointed out, "You guys just go get the tree. I'll stay here with him."

A little while later, Richard, Dad, and I were riding in Richard's huge SUV to go get the tree. Cinda had decided to stay home in order to spend 'quality time with her daughter and grandson', but everyone knew she just didn't want to go to the tree farm. She had never liked getting Christmas trees.

The tree farm was really crowded. Richard had to circle the parking lot twice just to find a spot. Then we walked up a small dirt road until we reached the farthest spot of the farm, which was relatively empty.

"A year ago we were doing this in the bush behind your old house," Richard said as we began looking at trees, "Things sure do change."

"That they do," Dad mused, "But change is good."

"Is Matt ok?" Richard asked, "He hasn't seemed well over the past few days. Has something happened?"

"He's afraid to be here," Dad sighed, "Because of what happened before we moved. The psychologist we've been seeing thought it would be a good idea for him to confront the fear, but so far all its done is made him sleep deprived."

"I'm surprised Julie allowed that."

"She's the one who originally suggested it," Dad told him, "But the psychologist agreed and here we are."

"That's possibly the most surprising thing I've heard since you told me you were moving. Julie has babied that boy ever since he was born."

"We both have," Dad said a bit louder, "It's part of the problem and it's taken us nearly nine years to realize it. We're not doing it anymore. We've stopped giving in to everything. We've spoiled him."

"I've been telling you that since he was three," Richard chuckled, "I tell you, the best thing for a boy is to fall down and get a few bumps and bruises. Then he picks himself up and gets on with life."

"Believe me, he's had more bumps and bruises than the average kid. And half the time he can't just pick himself up and get on with life. I guess that's the issue. Julie and I have to learn when he really needs us and when he doesn't."

"You'll figure it out. And you know how I know that?" Richard put his arm around me and smiled, "Because you did something right with this one."

I couldn't help but grin. Richard was usually very quiet. He rarely said more than a sentence or two within a fifteen minute time frame. People said he had to be like that in order to be married to Cinda, the queen of talking. Richard never commented on how my parents raised me. He said plenty about how they raised Matt, but never me. I guess that was a good thing.

Mum always said I took after Cinda, but I liked Richard more. Cinda's constant jabbering was irritating and she always tried to get what she wanted. Whenever I complained to Mum about her, she just smiled and laughed and said I didn't like Cinda because I was so much like her.

"You'd think we would have gotten better with the second one, not worse," Dad muttered.

"Don't think too much about it now. It's Christmas," Richard said, "And we've got a tree to find."

We wound up finding a tree that was about half the size of one we had last year. Richard refused to get a twelve-foot tree since he was sure Cinda would have a hippogriff if he did so. Well, he used the term, 'have a cow'. It was funny to watch Dad help him tie it to the roof of the car, though. Dad had obviously never done such a thing before and he muttered something about how much easier it would be to just use a sticking charm.

Getting the tree off the car once we drove back to Richard and Cinda's house was much easier. Dad just used magic since no one else was around. He levitated it through the double doors in the back of the house and stood it up in the corner of the living room.

Cinda and Mum were talking on the couch in the living room. Well, Cinda was talking and Mum was nodding and muttering 'mm-hmm' every so often. I doubted she was really listening. One of her hands was holding an open book and the other was rubbing Matt's back, who was lying next to her.

"Have fun?" Mum set down her book.

Dad nodded. "When should we decorate?"

Decorate. I suddenly realized that we left all our decorations at home. "Er, we don't have any decorations."

Richard laughed. "Yes we do. Haven't used them in years, but we've got them. Your mum made some of them."

"Oh, right," I said. Of course they had decorations.

"Let's do it after dinner," Cinda said as she stood up, "There's a lovely lasagna in the oven."

"Had it delivered while we were gone?" Richard smirked.

"Yes," Cinda grinned.

******

"What is this supposed to be?" I asked as I pulled a misshapen piece of wood with a string attached out of the box of ornaments.

"It's a dog," Mum laughed, "I made it when I was five."

I turned the dog around in my hand and squinted. "Erm, I sort of see it."

It was actually really fun to use Richard and Cinda's ornaments. There was a story behind every single one. The crystal husband and wife one that they had gotten at their wedding, the little set of golf clubs Richard had had since he was a teenager, the witch's hat and broom Mum had gotten after she found out she was a witch, and of course all the homemade ornaments.

Even Matt seemed to perk up as we looked through the ornaments. He loved Mum's homemade ornaments. It even seemed like he wasn't sleep deprived.

Mum, Dad, Richard, and Cinda sat on the couch and let us decorate the tree. They told stories about the ornaments, but the decorating was up to us. Matt decorated the bottom half and I decorated the top. I had to use a ladder for the very top and Mum forbade Matt from getting on it.

Eventually we got the tree completely decorated. My parents and grandparents loved it and Richard took a bunch of pictures. Even though the tree had no theme whatsoever, I liked it. It was different, but nothing about this holiday was normal, so it fit well.

I fell asleep quickly that night since I had gotten used to Australian time. I had also gotten used to my pink bedroom again. In fact, I slept late and didn't wake up until nearly ten o'clock. It marked the second year in a row that Matt hadn't woken me up on Christmas.

The sun was shining into my window, but I didn't pay much attention to it. It was almost ten and nobody else seemed to be up. I ran out of my room and down the corridor to my parents'.

They were sitting up in bed whispering to each other, but stopped as soon as I walked in.

"Happy Christmas," Mum smiled.

"Happy Christmas," I said as I sat down on the bed, "Is anyone else up?"

"I don't think so," Dad replied, "We're going to wait for presents until Matt's up. He's been sound asleep since three in the morning."

I looked down and saw that Matt was sound asleep in the middle of the bed. I sighed. It would be a while until he got up. He'd probably sleep until dinner time. At least he finally fell asleep, though.

It was strange not to open presents right away. I went downstairs and saw that Ellie must have Apparated to the house at some point because she was making brekkie in Richard and Cinda's kitchen.

Richard and Cinda woke up a little while later and we all ate brekkie while Matt slept. No one really knew what to do after that since Christmas morning was usually spent opening and admiring gifts.

I sat in the living room staring at the presents while Richard read the paper and Mum and Cinda talked. There was one huge present that was addressed to me and I really wanted to open it.

After a few more hours of boredom, Matt finally walked sleepily into the room. He looked like he could use another day's worth of sleep, but I was glad he got up.

"Can we open presents now?" I asked as he climbed onto Mum's lap.

"Yes," Mum grinned, "You can go first."

I leaped off the chair and grabbed the big present I had been gazing at. It was from Mum and Dad and weighed a ton. Did they get me a box of bricks or something?

I ripped the paper off and tore open the plain brown box that was underneath. There was a bunch of crumpled up newspaper in the box and I threw it all over the room as I dug around in the box.

When all the newspaper was finally on the floor and not in the box, I pulled out a silver cauldron that was slightly bigger than the one I already had.

"You've already got one of those," Matt announced.

"This one's self-stirring," I grinned as I noticed the self-stirring symbol etched onto the side. I set it down and ran over to Mum and Dad, giving them each a huge hug. "Thank you so much!"

Self-stirring cauldrons open up a wealth of brewing opportunities. Some potions require constant stirring, which makes it difficult to prepare ingredients as you brew. Some ingredients had to be prepared right before you added them. So you either needed another person or a self-stirring cauldron.

I was surprised they got me another silver cauldron. They had been reluctant enough to get me the first one. It was a good sign; they were trusting me more.

Matt went next and he picked the present from me. His eyes got huge when he saw the box of chocolate frogs and Mum laughed. Then he held up the Chudley Cannons jersey and Cinda's eyes got huge with disgust. I giggled. She probably wouldn't have let me bring that into the house if she had known about it. She claims orange looks good on nobody.

"What is that?" she asked.

"A Quidditch jersey!" Matt said excitedly, "Chudley Cannons? Who are they?"

"A team in the British league," I explained, "The store in Hogsmeade didn't have any Australian jerseys, so I picked another team. Apparently they're not very good, but they need support."

"I like it," Matt said as he pulled it on. It went reached halfway down his thighs and was wide enough to fit three of him into it, but he had a big grin on his face.

The present opening continued for the rest of the afternoon. Mum and Dad both loved what I got them. I think Dad wished I had gotten him a Gryffindor scarf as well, though. Hell, Matt seemed to want one, too. I could get him one for his birthday.

Cinda got me a bag, which I thought was kind of funny since Mum got her one, too. This one was tiny and pink with silver dangly things attached to the zipper. It was something I would never use. I had no use for girly bags. Pockets worked just as well for holding stuff and I carried my school bag around Hogwarts. Not even one book would fit in this pink bag.

Cinda liked her bag much more than I liked mine. She said she had about ten different outfits to go with it and I was sure all of them were pants suits. Richard was thrilled with his golf club and said he'd have to go golfing soon.

Mum and Ellie prepared dinner afterwards. Cinda sat in the kitchen with them, but didn't help with the cooking. It was just as well since the only thing she could do was heat stuff up in the microwave.

Dad and Richard talked quietly in the den and I wanted to listen in on what they were saying, but Matt kept me occupied playing with his new Quidditch game with him in the living room. It was a model game that you could tell the players where to fly to, sort of like Wizard's Chess.

Matt seemed completely different than he had been the previous day. I mentioned this to Mum and she told me that a good night's sleep could do wonders. Maybe the sleep helped him realize that nothing would happen to him in Australia anymore.

Dinner was delicious and fun. Mum and Dad seemed so much happier now that Matt wasn't as scared. I think we were all relieved about that. Nobody said a word about anything related to Lubar or the Australian Ministry or wizarding Australia in general.

Ellie Apparated back to England after we finished dessert. She had to take my cauldron back to our house, since there would be no explaining that to airport security. Come to think of it, she had probably brought it that morning. Mum also wanted it in my potions room as soon as possible. She may be trusting me more, but she was still worried about Matt being around it.

I was really glad we had gone to Australia for Christmas. It had been a really good day. I don't think it would have been all that enjoyable if Matt hadn't gotten any sleep, but he did so it turned out well. Having Christmas in England would have just been too strange. I hoped we'd go to Australia for every Christmas.

Chapter 56: A Meeting With Professor Kendrick

The next few days went by quickly. Matt continued to sleep at night so Mum never had to go buy Dreamless Sleep.

Richard took Dad golfing, which apparently turned out interesting. Dad has only been golfing a handful of times, so he's not very good at it. The Muggles who were behind them got kind of angry that Dad was taking so long, so Richard let a whole bunch of Muggles ahead of them. It took all afternoon, but they had fun.

Kenzie and two of her sisters came over to swim while Dad and Richard were gone. Mari and Maddie played with Matt while I told Kenzie all about school. Well, I made it sound like a Muggle school. I mostly talked about the other kids in my year.

Kenzie's dad barbecued at their house for New Year's Eve. Even Richard and Cinda went, which is kind of funny. It's not that they don't get along, they're just really different. Kenzie's parents have always been more of friends with my parents than my grandparents.

"Did Morgan get a mobile phone?" I asked Kenzie as she and I sat in a tree in her backyard. Morgan was walking around the yard jabbering away into a tiny phone. One thing I learned from Vivienne, Breanne, and their lot was that mobile phones are very important to girls like them.

"Oh, no," Kenzie laughed, "Mum would never get her one. That's Mum's. I don't even have one. Mum'll probably take it away soon, since Morgan's been on it since this morning."

"No offense," I said, "But Morgan is just like Breanne and those other girls I don't like."

"None taken," Kenzie replied, "I know she is and I have no idea where she got it from. I seriously think she'd love to go live with your grandparents." She gestured to Cinda, who was talking on her own mobile phone.

"I'm sure Cinda would love it, too," I said, "Someone to buy expensive clothes for."

"Morgan would love to have someone buy them for her."

"Your other sisters aren't like that," I said as I watched Mari and Maddie play football with Matt.

The term 'playing football' was used loosely, though. Mostly Mari was kicking the ball around the yard and if by some small chance she lost hold of it, Matt would dribble it for a few seconds before Mari took it away again. Maddie mostly chased the other two.

"I can't ever see Mari being anything like that," Kenzie said, "She's so sporty. She's better than half the boys her age in football. It's kind of funny. She plays on a co-ed team and she's the star player."

"Well, she's got no competition in Matt," I laughed, "He's lucky he doesn't trip over the ball."

"Mari!" Kenzie's mum shouted, "Let Matt have a turn with it!"

"We're playing a game, Mum, it's not my problem he's loosing!" Mari shouted.

"It's too soon to tell with Maddie," Kenzie went on, "She mainly copies the rest of us. When Mari play soccer, Maddie wants to play. When Morgan straightens her hair and puts on make-up, Maddie wants to. When I draw or design stuff on the computer, Maddie wants to."

"And Michael?" I asked.

Kenzie laughed, "Michael likes to annoy the cat."

Both Cinda and Morgan got off their phones when dinner was served. Well, Kenzie's mum took her phone back, much to Morgan's disgust. Morgan spent all of dinner sulking and we pretty much ignored her.

Mari wanted to organize a big football match after dinner. Everyone participated except Cinda (because she wasn't wearing the right shoes), Morgan (because she was still sulking), and Michael (for obvious reasons).

The teams were Richard, Mrs. Dawe, Mari, me, and Kenzie versus Dad, Mr. Dawe, Mum, Matt, and Maddie. Cinda agreed to be the referee, but she didn't pay much attention.

The match was really fun. I hadn't ever played such a huge game of football before. In fact, the extent of my football playing had been kicking the ball around with Matt and Dad in our backyard. So I wasn't very good. Mari was easily the best player, but Mr. Dawe, Mum, Dad, and Kenzie were good as well, so the teams were evenly matched.

I even managed to score a few goals against Mum, who was the goalie. Mostly I just passed the ball to Mari since she got the ball past Mum every time.

Mari was going to be the star of her school's football team when she got older. She was faster than me and even the adults. I hadn't ever seen a nine-year-old run that fast.

However, Mrs. Dawe was not impressed when Mari plowed Maddie over on her way to the goal. It seemed to happen more and more often as it got darker, which didn't surprise me. It was hard to see and the porch lights didn't reach the entire yard.

The match was declared over when Mari managed to run into Matt on her way down the yard. She knocked him flat onto his back, which must have been hard to do since he's only a head shorter than her. He didn't get right back up afterwards like Maddie did either. I think he was mostly just shocked that he was knocked over by her.

Mum picked him up and took him over to the picnic table while Mrs. Dawe gave Mari a stern lecture about looking where she was going. Our team won due to Mari's scoring abilities.

We went inside after that. Dad, Richard, and Mr. Dawe sat in the living room drinking beer and talking about golf, the weather, and who knows what else. Mum and Mrs. Dawe (once she put Michael to bed) talked with each other in the den. Matt laid down on the couch next to Mum and I doubted he'd stay up until midnight. Cinda gave Morgan a manicure while they talked about clothes and fashion. Mari and Maddie played video games. Kenzie and I just talked.

It was so peaceful to spend New Year's Eve at Kenzie's house. So much better than New Year's Eve the previous year. New Year's at Kenzie's house was like what I always imagined holidays would be like if I had a big family with a lot of cousins. Fun, relaxing, and a little chaotic. Kenzie's family was really the closest thing we had to an extended family besides Uncle Jack, Richard, and Cinda. It was almost nice that we couldn't share the fact that we were wizards with them. We could just leave that part of our lives behind and forget about everything for the evening.

The remaining hours until midnight went by fast. Matt and Maddie fell asleep on the couch and even Mari had run out of energy and was reading a book in between them. Morgan had received a full makeover from Cinda and was glowing (not from the make-up, either).

Dad, Richard, and Mr. Dawe came into the room shortly before midnight. Mrs. Dawe passed around noisemakers and woke up Matt and Maddie. I got a noisemaker and jumped up and down with Kenzie while we counted down the seconds until midnight.

"Happy New Year!" I shouted along with anyone else. Kenzie and I hugged each other and then hugged everyone else. This was the way to spend New Year's. Surrounded by your friends, not your grandmother's rich acquaintances.

We said goodbye a little while later. All of the little kids were cranky, especially Maddie. She was having a screaming fit as we left. I had no idea when I'd see Kenzie again, but I wasn't sad as we said goodbye. It had been such a happy night.

I didn't realize how tired I was until we got back to Richard and Cinda's house. I fell asleep as soon as I got into bed.

******

Mum and Dad woke me up an hour before we had to leave for the airport. Dad had to go back to work in a few days and my holiday from school was nearly over. The flight was uneventful, which I was grateful for.

It was strange to be back in England. It had been easy enough to forget about Hogwarts and homework and England while we were in Australia, but as soon as I walked into our house, it all came back.

There was an unfamiliar barn owl sitting on the kitchen table. I had no idea how it managed to get into the house since we shut all the windows. Some sort of magic, no doubt.

"What's this?" Mum asked as she took the letter from the owl. She opened it and began to read silently, her lips turning down in a frown.

"What is it?" Dad asked.

"It's from Kendrick," Mum said quietly, "He's requested a meeting. About Amy."

I gaped at her. What had I done? I was quiet, I ignored most of the other students, I never made trouble.

"Amy?" Dad turned to look at me, "Well, I suppose we could go up there tomorrow. I think we'd all like to sleep today."

Mum nodded and took a quill and a pot of ink out of the nearest drawer. She scrawled something on the back of the parchment and sent it off with the barn owl.

Much to my surprise, Mum and Dad didn't say a word about the letter. Dad merely told me to go do my homework and I was all too willing to cooperate.

What did Kendrick want anyway? Judging by Mum's face, it wasn't anything good. The only thing I could think of was that it had to do with my grades. I knew I wasn't doing very well in about half my subjects.

I tried to do my homework, but I couldn't concentrate. It was kind of ironic. Kendrick wanted to meet with my parents because of my grades (at least I thought) and that fact was keeping me from doing my homework which would help me raise my grades.

Mum and Dad didn't bring up the letter the entire night. They were quiet during dinner and I had a feeling they talked about it by themselves, but they weren't bringing it up around me.

I tossed and turned the entire night and got up long before anyone else. I had no idea what time we were going to Hogwarts. Mum never told me. I didn't want to go. There were still two days of holiday left and I had no motivation to go back early. It was only a short meeting, but still.

Mum and Dad came downstairs shortly after I finished eating. They sat down on the opposite side of the table from me and Dad folded his hands on the table.

"Amy," he began, "Do you know what Professor Kendrick wants to talk about?"

"Didn't the letter tell you?" I asked.

"No," Dad shook his head.

I stared down at the milk remaining in my bowl. "It's probably my marks."

"Your marks?" Mum asked curiously, "You've never had a problem with classes before. I know you've always struggled with Defense and Transfiguration, but nothing else."

"I think I might be failing everything except Potions, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology," I muttered as I moved my spoon around in my bowl.

"Amy, that means you're failing half your classes," Dad said quietly.

"I know, ok?" I said as I got up, "I just don't want to talk about it!"

"Amy-"

"No, I don't want to talk about it!" I said as I ran out of the room.

"We're going to see Professor Kendrick at one!" Mum shouted after me.

I ran up to my room and slammed the door behind me. Mum shouted something else, probably telling me not to be so loud, but I ignored her. They just didn't get it. They didn't understand how hard it was to switch schools in the middle of your education. They didn't get that classes were different, that I'm behind in half my classes and ahead in the other half.

Nor did they understand how hard it was to spend three and a half months in a school without any friends. Or to have a roommate who hates your guts and would hate your brother even more than you if she knew what he was. Or to have a Slytherin competing with you in every potion you brew.

I managed to finish most of my homework by the time Mum came upstairs and told me to come downstairs and have lunch before going to Hogwarts.

Neither of my parents mentioned anything else about my grades during lunch, which I was grateful for. In fact, they were silent during lunch. So was Matt, but I think that was a combination of the time change and the fact that the full moon was two days away.

One o'clock came and we Apparated to Hogsmeade. Luckily it wasn't snowing, but it was bitterly cold since we were walking into the wind. I was shivering before we even reached the grounds.

Professor Kendrick met us in the Entrance Hall. The castle was so quiet and empty it was almost spooky. It reminded me of when we visited over the summer, but since I had gotten used to it being chaotic and busy, it was strange to see it empty.

Kendrick led us up to his study, which thankfully had a roaring fire in the fireplace. The corridors were nearly as cold as outside. Four armchairs sat in front of his wooden desk and we all sat down. I waited nervously for Kendrick to start talking. I noticed both Professors Dumbledore and Snape were in their portraits.

"How was your holiday?" Kendrick asked.

"It was nice," Mum answered, "We visited my parents in Australia. How was yours?"

"Relaxing," Kendrick said, "However, the term is about to start, so it's back to work. I'm sure you're both wondering why I asked you to meet with me."

"Yes, your letter was not clear," Dad replied.

"I thought it would be better if I just told you in person," Kendrick said and then turned to me, "Amy, how are you liking Hogwarts?"

I shrugged. "It's ok."

"Your marks this term were drastically lower than your marks in Australia," Kendrick told me, "Are the classes too hard?"

"I don't know," I muttered, "It's just that they're so different. Like History of Magic. It's all completely new and Professor Binns doesn't pause to let people take notes."

Kendrick smiled. "I had Professor Binns in school. I highly suggest just reading the textbook and studying with that rather than trying to take notes in his class."

"Oh," I said. It would have been nice if someone told me that earlier.

"What I would like to know is how you're adjusting to Hogwarts. Sometimes grades fall when you're homesick or not adjusting well," Kendrick said quietly.

I bit my lip. Not adjusting well. That was putting it lightly. I hoped Kendrick wouldn't keep pushing this or I was going to start crying in his study.

"She hasn't mentioned anything like that," Mum said.

Because I didn't want to mention it, I thought. I could feel the tears forming. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Amy?" Mum asked, "Are you having a hard time adjusting?"

"I don't know," I sniffed, "It's just that everyone already has friends. I just miss Australia."

"Oh, I had no idea," Mum put her arm around me, "Why didn't you say something when you came home?"

"You guys are so happy here," I sobbed, "Dad likes his job and Matt will be able to go to school and we don't have to worry about Lubar and his bloody laws."

"Amy, we want to know if you're unhappy. Maybe we can help," Mum said.

"What are you going to do, make people be friends with me?" I asked. If people didn't want to be friends with me, I was out of luck. There wasn't anything anyone could do.

"Perhaps you just need someone to talk to while you're at school," Kendrick suggested, "It's not good to keep all that bottled up."

"I don't know," I muttered, "I talk to Madam Pomfrey."

"That's good," Kendrick smiled, "Although she can be quite busy at times."

Mum and Dad shared one of those parental looks and I knew they had already thought of something

"We've actually decided that Amy should meet with a psychologist once a week," Dad said.

Me? See a psychologist like Matt did? I hadn't been through any trauma. Why couldn't I just keep talking to Madam Pomfrey?

"Excellent idea," Kendrick replied, "Do you have someone in mind?"

Dad nodded. "Healer Norlam. Matt saw him for a few months and now Julie and I are meeting with him once a week as well."

"Let me know which day will work for him," Kendrick said, "And we'll set it up."

Weren't they going to ask my opinion of this? I didn't appear to get a say in what was going to happen. I didn't see how talking to Norlam was going to help my grades anyway.

"I'll send you an owl to let you know when the first session will be," Kendrick told me, "It will be in the hospital wing."

"Ok," I nodded.

"Well," Kendrick folded his hands together, "I think we'll try this for a month and then reassess."

"That's fine," Dad said.

"Then I'll see you on Monday, Amy," Kendrick smiled, "Enjoy your last day of holiday."

I was dreading going back to school too much to enjoy the last bit of holiday. Plus I had so much homework to do.

******

The remainder of the holiday was rather boring. Dad had to work on Sunday since he was taking Monday and Tuesday off for the full moon. Mum spent the day cleaning with Ellie and doing some shopping in Diagon Alley. Matt slept much of the day and read when he wasn't sleeping. I read as well.

I really did not want to go back to school. Partly because I liked being at home so much more and partly because Matt was starting Sterling's study. He wasn't getting any potion for the first two years, but he still had to get observed and Sterling wanted him to transform at St. Mungo's again. He would transform at home for all the following months, though. My parents promised to owl me of course, but it wasn't the same.

Monday came too fast and I was soon on my way back to Hogwarts. Just Dad had dropped me off since Matt had been sleeping when we left. He didn't even wake up when I said goodbye. I hadn't expected him to, but I wished he had.

It was snowing when the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station and the ride up to the school was freezing. I shared a carriage with three older Ravenclaws who ignored me.

The moon had risen by the time dinner started. I was too focused on that to eat much. All I wanted to do was go up to my dormitory, curl up in my bed, and try to fall asleep.

When I was finally able to do that, all my roommates stayed up late talking about their holidays. I heard all about Samantha's getting to meet the Holyhead Harpies, Alyssa's trip to France, Seren's boring holiday at home, Monica's New Year's party in which she kissed two blokes at midnight, and Victoire's hectic Christmas at her grandparents' house. Victoire asked me how my holiday was and I told her I went to Australia and that it was fun.

I fell asleep long after they went to bed, which meant I must not have fallen asleep until really late.

I spent the next day in a sort of distracted trance. No letter arrived from my parents at brekkie or lunch. I knew I should have paid better attention in my classes, but I kept looking at the windows, waiting for Jasper to show up.

He finally appeared in the common room window after classes were over. I practically leaped over two first years in order to get the letter before someone else did. The common room was packed. It was no place to read a letter about my brother.

Much to my dismay, Monica was in the dormitory with a few of her fifth year friends so I couldn't read the letter there. I shoved it in my robes and ran out of Gryffindor Tower and towards the Hospital Wing.

I groaned inwardly when I reached the ward. It was as nearly as packed as the common room. I squeezed my way inside and realized there was no way I'd get any privacy there.

"Come to join the party, Amy?" Willinson appeared at my side.

I jumped aside and glared at him. "No. Why's it so crowded here?"

"Someone put Everlasting Itch Cream into the pipes in the Slytherin common room," Willinson muttered, "Now whoever uses the sinks or showers gets doused in itch cream."

Looking around, I noticed that everyone in the ward was a Slytherin and most of them were rather twitchy and scratching themselves. If I hadn't been so worried about what the letter said, I would have thought it was rather funny.

I muttered a quick goodbye to Willinson and ran out of the ward. Where was I going to read the letter? Was there no place in the entire castle where I could be alone? The Astronomy tower would be too cold since it was snowing.

I walked back up to the seventh floor and began pacing. Pacing always helped me come up with ideas. Anything outside was out of the question for the same reasons the Astronomy Tower was. I'd get in trouble if I used an empty classroom. The Great Hall would be crowded.

I stopped pacing and glanced around the the corridor. It was completely empty. Maybe if I just went in an empty classroom for a few minutes nobody would know.

I turned around and grabbed the handle of the nearest door. I looked once more down the corridor and opened it.

The room was very small. It didn't look like a classroom at all. There weren't any desks or a blackboard. All it contained was a comfortable looking couch, a table, and a fireplace with a crackling fire. It looked like the perfect place to read a letter.

Hogwarts just kept getting stranger and stranger, I thought as I sat down on the couch. I ripped the letter open and read it.

Dear Amy,

I hope you first day back went well.
The full moon wasn't any worse than
usual. We stayed at St. Mungo's
until early afternoon and then
went back home. Matt is ok, but
he'll need to rest for a few days
like usual.

Keep us updated on everything. We
want to know how you are doing at
school. You should be having your
first appointment with Healer Norlam
soon. Let us know how that goes.

Love,
Mum and Dad

I breathed a sigh of relief and put the letter back in my robes. Was this what every full moon was going to be like now? Would I get this worried about all of them? I was rarely this worried while we still lived in Australia. It was probably because of that month he had to transform in the Ministry center.

I was going to have to remember that room for the next time I had a letter about Matt. As I left the room, I noticed there was a portrait of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls to dance ballet. That was certainly memorable. I wouldn't forget where the room was.

There was no doubt in my mind that Teddy had been behind the prank in the Slytherin common room. This was confirmed when I returned to the Gryffindor common room and saw a very large group of Gryffindors surrounding Teddy, who was bragging about the prank. It amazed me that he could get away with all these pranks but Professor Kendrick owled my parents for a meeting.

Chapter 57: The Room of Requirement

My appointment with Healer Norlam was two days later. Professor Kendrick sent me an owl at brekkie. It was scheduled for seven in the evening.

The impending appointment distracted me the whole day which was kind of ironic since the whole point of me seeing Healer Norlam was to improve my grades. That wasn't going to happen if I couldn't pay attention.

At 6:45 I left the crowded common room and went to the Hospital Wing. It was mysteriously quiet and empty. Madam Pomfrey was scrawling on a piece of parchment at her desk when I entered.

"Hello, Amy," she set down her quill, "How are you? Did you have a good holiday?"

I nodded. "We went to Australia so it was fun."

"I'm glad," Madam Pomfrey smiled, "And how is your brother?"

"He's all right. He started Sterling's study the other day, but he's not taking any potions for the first two years."

"Well hopefully your parents will get some answers," she replied, "Healer Norlam is in the conference room," she gestured to a door next to the door to her study, "You can go on in."

I nodded again and walked over to the door. I had no idea what to expect. The only thing I knew about wizarding psychology was what Healer Norlam did with Matt. And I wasn't afraid of everybody so I doubted he would do anything like that for me.

There were a couple chairs in the conference room, one of which Healer Norlam was sitting in. He gestured to the one next to him and I sat down.

"Hello, Amy," he greeted me, "Have a good first few days back?"

"They were all right," I shrugged.

"Good," Norlam nodded, "Now I thought you could just use these sessions to talk about what's going on. You can tell me anything and I won't tell anyone."

"Even my parents?" I asked skeptically.

"Even your parents, unless you tell me something that endangers yourself or anyone else," Norlam clarified, "How about you tell me about some of the stuff you don't like about Hogwarts and perhaps we can do something about it."

I doubted there was much he'd be able to do since he wasn't a teacher, but if he really wanted to know, I'd tell him.

"Professor Washburn," I replied, "He's a real git."

Norlam smiled and shook his head a little bit. "My kids don't like him either. Unfortunately, I can't get him sacked."

I laughed. "Nobody really likes him. Not even the Slytherins and he favors them."

"Some people just are not cut out for teaching. It makes me wonder why he chose this profession," Norlam mused, "Anyway, what else do you not like about Hogwarts?"

"One of my roommates, Monica Kramer," I said, "She's a git, too."

"What don't you like about her?"

"She hates werewolves," I sighed, "She thinks they're all evil and what's really stupid is that she thinks it's their fault they became werewolves. Which is obviously not true."

"Of course it's not," Norlam agreed, "However, you seem to have stumbled across an issue involving social psychology. It's called the belief in a just world. People like to think that everyone gets what they deserve, mainly to reassure themselves that they won't get anything they don't deserve. It's part of why people are so reluctant to help others in need. They think those people deserve it. Most people like to believe the world is a just place, but some of us know it's not."

He could say that again. If the world was a just place, Matt never would have been bitten in the first place. But for someone to think that he did something to deserve that? That was ridiculous.

"A good portion of the people who don't like werewolves like to think they deserve the fate," Norlam said quietly, "That may be playing a role in Monica's thinking. That and I am sure she learned from her parents."

"I don't care why she hates werewolves," I muttered.

"I'm not trying to make excuses for her. I'm just showing you the psychology behind it."

"I just hate having to share a dormitory with someone who would hate my brother so much if she knew what he was," I said.

"That's just it. She doesn't know and she won't ever know," Norlam pointed out, "I think you'd do best to just ignore her."

"That's what I've been doing," I groaned, "That's all I do is ignore people. Her and Quinton Willinson, this Slytherin bloke who thinks he's best at potions."

"Is there anyone you get along with?"

"Yeah. Victoire Weasley is nice, but she's friends with Monica Kramer. It makes no sense because she's really good friends with Ted Lupin, whose dad was a werewolf. Ted is nice, too. So is his friend Landon Comer," I told him.

"Well that's a good sign. Try to spend time with them. If they're studying in the library, ask if you can study at the same table," Norlam said, "Now, our time is just about up, so I will see you next week."

I nodded as I got up. "Bye."

"Bye, Amy," Norlam smiled, "Remember, just ignore Monica. It's her loss that she's so prejudiced."

******

Monica proved to be much easier to ignore than she had been the previous term. Apparently she had spent a lot of time with her fifth year friends over the holiday and spent most of her free time at school with them and not in the dormitory. I noticed that Victoire spent more time with Teddy than her.

The teachers began to give us even more homework and give speeches on how important the end of the year exams were. I spent hours a day on homework, which was fine by me because I had to get my grades up anyway. Most of everyone else in my classes complained about it, though.

Ravenclaw played Hufflepuff in Quidditch at the end of January and I became convinced that the students and staff of Hogwarts were certifiably insane. The match was played in the middle of a raging snowstorm. I couldn't even see the players and have no idea how the Hufflepuff Seeker managed to catch the Snitch. I was frozen within ten minutes and sat in the stands shivering my arse off while the people around me shouted their lungs out. I thought Kendrick should have just postponed the match. When I asked Teddy why he didn't, Teddy shot me the most ludicrous look in the world and then laughed. He told me that Dumbledore canceled the end of the year exams more than Quidditch when he had been headmaster and Kendrick was of the same philosophy.

February brought another snowstorm that made it nearly impossible to go to Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. Not that either professor actually canceled class. It was also bitingly cold. Colder than normal for February, according to Landon.

The next full moon came in the beginning of February and with it another night of insomnia. I bottled potions with Madam Pomfrey until she made me go back to my dormitory.

Mum and Dad sent me an owl the next morning, but I didn't have time to open it until lunch time. I was determined to find that room on the seventh floor again, so as soon as I shoveled down a quick lunch, I ran up there.

It didn't take long to find the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy, but there wasn't a door across from it. I groaned. Had I noticed the wrong portrait? Or was I simply going mad?

I paced back and forth, looking for the door. Maybe I had missed it. It couldn't be gone. Rooms didn't just disappear and reappear at random.

Or did they? I stopped again and there the door was. Right where I had been expecting it. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. It was still there.

I cautiously opened the door and peered inside. It looked exactly like it had the previous time. It was very strange.

I sat down on the little couch and ripped the letter open. It said the same thing it had the previous month. Matt wasn't any worse than he usually was after full moons.

Matt's birthday was in two days. Dad wrote that they weren't doing anything too exciting, just a dinner of his choice and a trip to Diagon Alley if it wasn't too cold. They didn't like him getting too cold before and after full moons.

There wasn't a Hogsmeade visit around his birthday, so I didn't have anything to get him. I figured I'd just send him some chocolate frogs whenever the next Hogsmeade visit was. The next one was on Valentine's Day, I thought.

After I finished reading the letter, I wanted to try and figure out what was up with the room. Unfortunately, afternoon classes were starting and I didn't have enough time.

I went back up to the seventh floor corridor as soon as classes were over for the day. The door was gone, but I hadn't expected it to be there. I began to walk back and forth because that's what I had done earlier.

I counted the number of times I passed the empty wall and by the third pass, the door appeared. It revealed the same room I had been in earlier.

It was kind of exciting. I was finding new parts of the castle! I left the room and turned away from it. The door disappeared. I paced again and it returned. Getting the door to materialize was so much fun that I did it over and over again until I was convinced that pacing in front of the wall three times was the way to get it to appear.

"Find the Room of Requirement?" someone laughed.

I froze and turned to look down the corridor. Ted was leaning on the wall with his bag slung around his shoulder.

"Er, what?" I asked.

"The Room of Requirement," Ted said as he walked towards me, "It's this room that will give you what you want. All you have to do is think of what you want while you pace three times in front of the wall and the room will look like what you want. Although it doesn't give you food."

"Wait, so it gives you what you want?" I raised my eyebrows, "Every time I've done it the room looks the same."

"You must want the same thing each time," Ted laughed, "Watch."

Teddy thought for a second and then began to pace in front of the wall. The door appeared and Teddy gestured for me to go with him. He opened the door and I gasped.

The room was an exact replica of the Gryffindor common room, down to the very last red poofy pillow. The only difference was that it wasn't filled with Gryffindors. Teddy and I were the only ones there, obviously.

"Wh-what?" I gaped.

"See, gives you anything you want, besides food," Teddy grinned.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door. I had to check this out myself. Anything I wanted? I closed my eyes and paced three times in front of the wall.

Teddy was still grinning when I opened my eyes and the door reappeared. I vaguely wondered how he figured the room out, but was more interested in whether it was really going to give me what I wanted.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. I froze in the doorway. There it was. My bedroom from Australia. Exactly as I remembered it. Dirty clothes on the floor, crumpled parchment on the desk, bed unmade. Just the same.

I walked slowly around the room, touching everything to make sure it was real. It was surreal. I felt like I was in a fog. It was the strangest thing to be back in my bedroom, but know that I was in Hogwarts.

"Er, what is it?"

I jumped and looked towards the door. Teddy was standing in the doorway, looking curiously around at the room.

"It's my bedroom from Australia," I whispered.

"Seriously?" Teddy asked, "It's huge."

"We had a big house," I said, thinking how much of an understatement that was.

"See, it does give you anything," Teddy grinned.

"I guess so," I said quietly, "Oh, do you know if anyone can get in here if someone else is in here?"

"Nope, that's what's so great about it," Teddy said, "You can be really secretive in here."

Hogwarts suddenly seemed so much better than before. I had a place I could go to get away from everyone if I needed to. I could almost go back to my house in Australia.

"Well, I'll see you later," Teddy said as he left the room.

"Bye, and thanks for showing me how the room works," I replied.

I stayed in the room until dinner and went back after. I did my homework there and realized that I got so much more accomplished there.

******

Matt's birthday came and went and I wasn't that upset that I missed it. I always missed his birthday in Australia, so it wasn't any different missing it in England. It was just weird to think that he was nine already. He seemed so much younger. I sent him a letter and told him I'd get him something the next time I went to Hogsmeade. Mum sent me a letter telling me that they just had a birthday dinner and never went to Diagon Alley because it had been so cold that day.

The next Hogsmeade visit was on Valentine's Day, as I had expected. It was a bitterly cold day, but there was hardly any wind, which was odd. I was happy about it, though, because I was considering not going if it had been windy.

Since it was Valentine's Day, a lot of people paired off and went to Hogsmeade on dates. Teddy went with some Ravenclaw, which surprised me since it was so obvious that he and Victoire should go out. Monica went with a seventh year Slytherin, which didn't surprise me. She should have been in Slytherin.

I went straight to Honeydukes and began to look around at all the candy. There was so much of it that I couldn't decide what to get. I usually got Matt chocolate frogs, but I was thinking of getting him something different.

"Amy?"

I turned away from a display of Every Flavor Sugar Quills and saw Victoire standing behind me.

"What are you up to?" she asked.

"Getting a birthday present for my brother," I replied.

"Oh how old is he turning?"

"Nine," I said as I chose the chocolate flavored Sugar Quills.

"Two of my cousins are turning nine this summer," Victoire told me.

"What are you up to?" I asked. I had no idea why she was talking to me, except maybe that Monica was too busy on her date.

"Just wandering around. I was just walking around the village but then when I was up near the Shrieking Shack, Quinton Willinson found me and asked if I wanted to go with him to Madam Puddifoot's."

"Ew," I grimaced, not sure which was worse, Willinson or Madam Puddifoot's.

"Yeah," Victoire giggled, "So I came in here. Listen, do you want to study for that Charms test together?"

"Sure, I guess," I shrugged, "What about Monica?"

"She doesn't really study much anymore," Victoire sighed, "She just hangs out with her other friends."

If that meant she wouldn't be in the dormitory, that was fine by me. "Let me just buy these and then go send them off."

"Sure, I'll meet you in the library," Victoire said and left the shop.

I bought the Sugar Quills, still amazed that I had someone to study with. I hadn't really studied with anyone in over a year. Sure, I'd studied near people, but never with anyone.

The wind was picking up as I walked back to the castle and I was grateful that I wasn't staying in Hogsmeade longer. I stopped by the Owlery and sent Matt's present off with a letter I had written earlier.

I hoped Victoire was somewhat good at Charms because I didn't have the slightest clue how to perform mood altering charms. I knew Cheering Charms because I'd done them in my third year, but the rest I was clueless about.

The library was filled mostly with younger students, but I found Victoire at one of the back tables, books and papers already cluttering it. I dumped my own books down next to hers and sat down.

"Get your present sent off?" she asked.

"Yup," I nodded, "So do you know how to do any of these charms?"

"Not really," Victoire sighed, "Charms has always been hard because Washburn's a git. He's been like this the entire time I've been here. You're lucky you had three years of Charms in Australia; it was probably better."

"Yeah, my Charms teacher was nice," I replied. So it wasn't only me having issues with Charms.

"I just really need at least an E on my O.W.L. since I want to become a Healer," Victoire explained, "Do you know what you want to be?"

"Nope," I shook my head. I hadn't given that the slightest thought.

"Well you've got time to figure it out. Teddy doesn't even know and he's older than us," she told me.

"I guess we'd better get started," I sighed as I opened my book, "We can just try the charms on each other. Want to start with the Anger Charm?"

"Sure," Victoire agreed.

We went through all the charms that were on the test until we were exhausted due to the constant changes in emotions we went through. I liked the Giddiness Charm, but Madam Pince quickly performed the countercharm on both of us since we were laughing too loudly for her liking. The Depression Charm, which was said to be a little bit like encountering a Dementor, was horrible because it made me think of when Matt was in that coma.

"Now we just have to hope we can do them tomorrow in front of Washburn," Victoire said as we walked back to Gryffindor Tower.

"I hate doing spells in front of him," I groaned, "I wish some other teacher could test us."

"The good thing is that we get Ministry examiners for the O.W.L.s," Victoire told me.

"Really? That's good," I said. I hadn't been thinking much about the O.W.L.s, but not having Washburn give the examination was relieving.

"Hey, Victoire, Amy!" someone shouted from behind us.

I turned around and saw Teddy running towards us. His date must have ended.

"What are you two up to?" he asked.

"Studying for Charms," Victoire replied, "How was your date?"

"Eh," Teddy shrugged, "She was kind of whiny and annoying so we decided to end it. Anyway, you might be interested in knowing that Ben is sneaking Fever Fudge into tonight's dinner down in the kitchens."

Victoire groaned. "Benedict Weasley! I'm so going to get him. He's already gotten in trouble too much this year. If he gets in anymore trouble Mum's going to flip."

"Aw, he's just having a little fun," Teddy grinned.

"Madam Pomfrey won't think it's funny," Victoire said, "Come on, let's go find him. I'll see you later, Amy."

"Ok, see you," I stifled my laughter. Ben must have been her little brother. I guess Victoire didn't really approve of his mischief making.

******

"What's that?" I pointed to the potion Madam Pomfrey was screwing the cap on. I had just walked into the hospital wing for my session with Norlam.

"Skele-Gro," Madam Pomfrey shuddered, "A very unpleasant potion to re-grow bones. I've only had to do it a handful of times, but it's awful each time. Somehow a boy's bones in his left index finger vanished during Charms a little while ago."

"Re-grow the bones?" I gaped.

"Yes," she nodded, "It's possible to do it, but it's painful."

It definitely wasn't something I wanted to have done to me. I suppose it would be better than going through life without bones, though.

"Healer Norlam is already in the room, you can go on in," Madam Pomfrey told me.

Meeting with Healer Norlam had gotten to be a regular thing for me. It didn't even seem like therapy. It was nothing like what he did with Matt. We just talked about everything that was going on at school and home.

Norlam kept me updated on what my parents were doing with Matt. He couldn't tell me everything because of confidentiality, but he did tell me that they were beginning to treat him more like an older kid than a little kid. Apparently he had chores now and Mum didn't go running for every little thing. She didn't always drop everything and run at top speed to him when he cried, except around full moons of course. I didn't think she'd ever not baby him around full moons.

"How are you today, Amy?" Norlam asked when I sat down, like he usually did.

"Good," I replied, "Just been doing a lot of homework."

"Well, that's not something I'm going to complain about," Norlam smiled, "Homework is important."

"Victoire and I have been studying Charms together and we both got Acceptable on our last exam, which is amazing for Washburn's class," I told him.

"I'm glad to hear it," Norlam replied, "You and Victoire seem to be getting along."

"Yeah," I said, "We study and stuff."

"Do you ever do anything with her besides studying?" Norlam asked.

"No, not really,” I shrugged, “She's still friends with Monica, even though they hardly do anything anymore.”

“I see,” he replied, “Perhaps you could eat lunch or dinner with her.”

“She always sits near Monica, even if they don't actually talk,” I sighed, “And I like ignoring Monica.”

Norlam chuckled. “That's probably a good thing. However, if Victoire is ever not eating with Monica, you could sit next to her.”

“I guess,” I shrugged again. I liked studying with Victoire. It was nice to have someone to study with again. I really didn't want to ruin it by making Monica angry which would then in turn cause Victoire to no longer study with me.

“Well, you think about it,” Norlam said, “Now, I'd like to discuss a theory with you.”

“A psychology theory?” I asked.

“Yes,” he smiled.

“About me?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said again, “Which is why I want to discuss it with you, if that's all right.”

“Sure,” I shrugged.

“Your parents have told me how hard it was for you to keep your brother's lycanthropy a secret from Olivia while in Australia,” Norlam said as he folded his hands together, “Best friends confide everything in each other, but you were not able to tell Olivia your biggest secret. That was hard, wasn't it?”

I nodded. It had been one of the hardest things I'd ever done in my life. I'd come so close to telling her so many times. Just the thought of it depressed me.

“Now, here you are in Britain, facing the same situation,” Norlam went on, “You have new friends. Teddy and Victoire. Yet, you are not nearly as close to Victoire as you are to Olivia or Kenzie.”

“Well, we just met,” I pointed out.

“You've told me before that you and Kenzie have been friends since you were toddlers. That you and Olivia were best friends within the first week of school,” Norlam smiled, “You don't have as difficult a time making friends as you think you do.”

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. It was true that I had two very good friends, but other than Olivia and Kenzie, I didn't have any other close friends in Australia. How could I possibly be considered someone who didn't have trouble making friends?

“But now, you have known Victoire for a few months, but you don't seem particularly close. I agree that Monica remains an obstacle, but I think there is something else, which is where my theory comes in,” he paused, “It is my opinion that you are trying to avoid becoming close to anyone here because you don't want to have to keep any secrets from close friends anymore. Unintentionally, of course.”

It took me a few minutes to grasp what he was saying. Norlam was quiet during those few minutes, as if he was waiting for me to process his theory. Then it hit me. Like Petrificus Totalus to the chest. That was what I was doing.

I swallowed hard. I didn't want to keep anymore secrets. I didn't want to have to lie to anyone anymore. I didn't want to make excuses for why my brother was sick all the time or why I anxiously awaited letters from home every month.

I had no problem keeping Matt's lycanthropy from acquaintances. Never had the urge come along to tell it to Willinson or Laney Hall. Monica was an exception. I didn't really want her to know about Matt, exactly, I just wanted her to understand what he went through. Teddy was an exception as well. His dad had been a werewolf, therefore he might understand what I was going through. Victoire as well. Her dad had been attacked by a werewolf. An untransformed one, but still. Actually, Hogwarts was full of exceptions. The only person in Australia whom I wanted to tell had been Olivia.

“I- I think you're right,” I whispered.

“I know it's hard, but you've got to accept that you won't be able to tell any of your friends about your brother. You can't go through life keeping everyone at a distance either,” Norlam said quietly.

“I guess I just almost thought that I could tell Victoire eventually,” I said, “She's different than Olivia. Her dad was attacked by an untransformed werewolf for Merlin's sake. She wouldn't hate Matt because of lycanthropy. Teddy's the same way. His dad was a werewolf. He wouldn't care either.”

“That is something you'll have to discuss with your parents,” Norlam told me.

“I know,” I said, “I don't want to tell them yet, just someday, maybe.”

Norlam nodded. “Well, our time is up for today. We can talk more about this next week, if you'd like.”

I nodded and got up. I left the hospital wing still a little shocked by Norlam's theory and how accurate it really was. Telling Teddy and Victoire about Matt was not an option, at least not now. But neither was shying away from anyone who wanted to be my friend.

Chapter 58: Detention

As the weeks progressed, I tried to keep Norlam's theory in mind. However, it was a bit difficult to become better friends with Victoire with Monica around. I soon realized that Victoire and I didn't study together just for the sake of studying. It was really the only time we could spend time with each other without Monica there. Monica seemed to have given up studying and Victoire told me that her grades showed it.

Occasionally Teddy and Landon would join us in the library, but when that happened neither of us got much studying done. Teddy wasn't really the studying type and could rarely study quietly for more than fifteen minutes.

The third Saturday in March was one of those days. All four of us were sitting at a table in the back of the library, surrounded by open books and parchment. Not much studying was being accomplished, though. Teddy had given up his essay a half hour ago and was currently explaining how the Gryffindor Quidditch team could lose their upcoming match against Ravenclaw and still win the Quidditch Cup. Not that we would lose, Teddy assured us, due to his brilliant Seeking skills.

Landon had given up studying as well. He was drawing up Quidditch plays, even though he wasn't actually on the team. I had begun to wonder how he had managed to become a Prefect. He wasn't very studious and he often joined in on the pranks Teddy pulled. The only reason I could think of was that the other fifth year Gryffindor boys were worse than he was. I didn't know them well, but if they were anything like Ted, my theory would be accurate.

Victoire was half-listening to Teddy and half-reading her History of Magic book. We had a test coming up soon in that class. I was also half reading my History of Magic book, but the rest of me was not focused on Teddy's Quidditch speech. The other half of my mind was very much focused on the full moon, which was the following evening.

“See?” Teddy announced, “We could lose the next match by a very wide margin and still win the Cup.”

“Very interesting,” Victoire laughed, “But the day you don't catch that Snitch is the day Professor Binns decides to retire.”

“Let's hope he doesn't catch the Snitch, then,” Landon grinned.

“If it meant Binns would leave, I would let the Ravenclaw Seeker catch the Snitch,” Teddy said.

“Only because we'd still win the Cup,” Landon smirked.

“True,” Teddy agreed, “Not even if it meant Binns would retire would I purposefully lose the Quidditch Cup.”

“Victoire!” someone shouted, earning them a 'shush!' from Madam Pince.

I looked up and groaned inwardly when I saw Monica walking over to the table. She did not look happy.

“Why Monica!” Teddy bowed deeply, “What has caused you to grace the library with your presence? Might I offer you a tour? The place may have changed since you were here last.”

“Very funny, Lupin,” Monica muttered, “I'm here to find Victoire.”

“Well, you found me,” Victoire said.

“Yeah, I did,” Monica replied, “And you're here with Eckerton. What in the name of Merlin possessed you to hang out with her? You know I can't stand her.”

“So what?” Victoire said, “I wanted to study and you never study anymore.”

“I just don't get why you seem to like her,” Monica said.

I was feeling steadily more uncomfortable. I glanced at Teddy and Landon. Landon looked uncomfortable and Teddy was glaring at Monica.

“I don't get why Victoire likes you, Monica,” Teddy chimed in, “I also don't get why you don't like Aussie.”

“I don't like you either, Lupin, and this isn't any of your business,” Monica growled, “And I don't like Eckerton because she thinks she knows everything.”

“I do not,” I glared at her, unable to keep my mouth shut any longer, “There are just certain topics that I know more about than you do.”

“You have all the facts wrong on those topics,” Monica put her hands down on the table and leaned into me.

“No, you do. What you think are facts are just your opinions. If we're talking about straight facts, I'm positive I know more than you,” I stared directly at her, not even afraid of what was going to happen.

“I read them in books, they're facts,” Monica said.

“Not everything you read is true, especially about this topic,” I seethed.

“What topic?” Teddy asked, looking quizzically from Monica to me.

“Werewolves,” Victoire told him, “You know Monica's opinion of them. Amy's is like yours. You can put it together from there.”

“Ah,” Teddy said, “Well, I'm on Aussie's side.”

“Of course you would be, Lupin,” Monica turned her head to glare at him, “You practically are a werewolf.”

“He is not,” Victoire groaned, “And so what if he was?”

“Then I wouldn't even be having this conversation,” Monica said, “Because I wouldn't want to be near him.”

“You know what, Monica?” Victoire said, “I was able to ignore the fact that you were a prejudiced git for nearly four years. But now, I'm not so sure if I can.”

“Fine,” Monica huffed, “All you do is study all the time anyway. You never want to have any fun.”

“That's because your fun involves getting older students to sneak firewhiskey into the castle for you and getting drunk in their dormitories,” Victoire retorted.

“It's called living a little,” Monica said, “Something you obviously never do.”

“I just live differently than you,” Victoire said as she rubbed her head, “Now can you just leave?”

“It's a free library,” Monica smirked.

“She said leave,” Teddy said sternly, using a tone I've never heard come out of his mouth.

“Oh, stay out of it!” Monica shouted, “Nobody asked you!”

“I'm asking him,” Victoire said.

Monica shouted something incomprehensible and pulled out her wand. Teddy had his out moments later and soon Monica hit Teddy with some sort of hex that caused purple pustules to appear on his face.

“What do you think you are doing?!” a very irate Madam Pince shouted as she came over to their table, “This is a library! All of you to your head of house's study now!”

Teddy and Monica immediately stowed their wands and Madam Pince escorted us to Professor Longbottom's study. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't even been dueling. My parents were going to kill me when they found out.

“Are these your students?” Madam Pince said as she burst into Longbottom's study without knocking, “They were shouting and dueling in the library!”

Professor Longbottom nodded and Madam Pince left, slamming the door behind her. I looked around the room. It was a mess and there was no place to sit, so I just stood next to Victoire and waited.

“Dueling in the library,” Longbottom repeated, “All of you?”

“Yes,” Monica said.

“Just Kramer and I,” Teddy replied.

“Mr. Comer?” Longbottom looked to Landon, the one who was supposed to be responsible.

“Just Teddy and Monica,” Landon replied, “But Victoire and Amy were shouting as well.”

“And you?” Longbottom asked.

“I was...involved,” Landon muttered, even though he hadn't really done anything.

“Ten points from Gryffindor for Miss Kramer and Mr. Lupin. Five points for Mr. Comer, Miss Weasley, and Miss Eckerton. Plus detention, tomorrow night,” Longbottom said, “Professor Slughorn needs more Luptaline Plant leaves for his potions cupboard. It can only be harvested on the full moon. Hagrid will accompany you into the forest to harvest it.”

“But-” Monica began.

“No butts,” Longbottom said as he began filling out forms, “You're lucky it's not something worse. I'm very disappointed in all five of you, especially you, Landon. You're a Prefect. I know you're not the most, well, disciplined, of Prefects, but you are supposed to be responsible and set a good example.”

Monica took off in the opposite direction as us as soon as Longbottom let us leave.

“Well, that could have been worse,” Teddy said.

“Worse?” I gaped, “We have to go into the bush at night and we'll probably get owls sent home.”

“Oh, we'll definitely get owls sent home. But going into the forest at night isn't bad. If Filch had been punishing us, we would have had four nights of cleaning various parts of the castle.”

I didn't know why I was sort of afraid of going into the bush. It was something I did all the time. Perhaps it was because it was at night and it was an unfamiliar bush. I didn't know my way around it. But more than that it was probably because of the full moon. My parents had drilled it into my head to not go outside when the full moon was out.

“Why'd you say you were involved, Landon?” I asked.

“It's what we do,” he clapped Teddy on the back, “Neither of us ever gets in trouble without the other. That way detention's never boring. Unless we're in separate detentions, which has happened.”

“The worst thing is that we have to do this with Monica,” Teddy said, “But after that we can ignore her for the rest of our lives. I've been waiting for this day for four years, Victoire. She's a real arse.”

“I know,” Victoire said quietly, “But she was my best friend for four years.”

I ate dinner with Teddy and Landon that night. Victoire disappeared into the dormitory after we returned from Professor Longbottom's study and didn't come out the entire evening. She skipped dinner. I wondered for a few minutes whether she was rekindling her friendship with Monica, but Monica returned to the common room well after curfew with a few of the older Gryffindors.

“Those girls are in my year and are just like Monica,” Teddy said to me as they walked past us, “Well, except for the hating werewolves thing. That's solely a Monica thing.”

******

I was up early the next day even though it was Sunday. Instead of going down to brekkie alone, I waited in the common room for Victoire, Teddy, and Landon. It was strange. I had never done that before, but I felt like I should.

Teddy and Landon came down first and waited with me for Victoire. She came down a little while later and we all went down to eat. Victoire was quiet the entire time.

Teddy announced afterwards that we shouldn't do any homework, but just lounge around and have fun all day since we had detention that night. That arrangement was fine by me because I was too distracted to do homework anyway.

We wound up in the Room of Requirement because the common room was packed. There had been a steady downpour of rain all morning and it hadn't let up, so everyone was stuck in the castle. I only hoped that it would stop by the time our detention began.

“So what's the plan, Ted?” Landon asked as he flopped down on one of the red couches in the room, “Pranks? Sneaking into Hogsmeade?”

“You sneak into Hogsmeade?” I asked.

“All the time,” Teddy grinned, “My godfather has a map that shows all the secret passageways out of the school. He won't let me have it, though.”

“Who's your godfather?” I asked.

“Harry Potter,” Teddy replied, “And his dad made the map along with my dad and two other blokes they were friends with in school.”

“That's pretty cool,” I said, very impressed.

“You gave me an idea,” Teddy said, “Let's play a game. Here's how it works. One of us asks another one of us a random question about them. Then the other two each guess what that person's answer will be. Then the person actually answers the question.”

“That sounds bloody confusing,” I replied, “And you three already know a lot about each other.”

“True, but it'll still be fun,” Teddy shrugged.

“We've got nothing better to do,” Victoire said.

“I guess,” I said.

“I'll start,” Teddy turned to me, “How big is Amy's family?”

“I'll guess that she's an only child but she's got about a million cousins,” Landon replied, which made me laugh.

“Hmm,” Victoire looked up at the ceiling as she thought, “I'll guess that you have a brother, a sister, and six cousins.”

“Neither of you are close to being right,” I smirked, “I've got one younger brother and no cousins.”

“None?” Victoire gaped, “Not even one?”

“Well, my dad's got a cousin, but that's it,” I said.

“Wow,” Victoire let out a low whistle, “I've got, let me count,” Victoire muttered to herself as she counted on her fingers, “Nineteen first cousins.”

“Merlin's pants,” I gasped, amazed that anyone could have that much family, “How do you keep track of them all?”

“We joke that my grandma's got a list of us all,” Victoire laughed.

“You know I don't have any cousins either,” Teddy pointed out.

“My cousins are practically your cousins,” Victoire said, “Do you have any aunts and uncles, Amy?”

“One uncle,” I answered, “My mum didn't have any siblings. Neither did her parents.”

“Wow, I can't even imagine that,” Victoire replied, “Anyway, your turn to ask a question.”

“Er,” I tried to think of a question. What was I supposed to ask them? “Victoire, what's your favorite holiday?”

“That's easy,” Teddy grinned, “Christmas.”

“Well, I won't bother guessing,” Landon laughed.

“Yeah, it's Christmas,” Victoire grinned, “My entire family crams into my grandparents' house and eat and play Quidditch in the snow. It's so much fun.”

“It is,” Teddy agreed, “Your turn, Victoire.”

“Landon,” Victoire smirked, “Why in the name of Merlin did Kendrick make you a Prefect?”

“Someone dared him to,” Teddy laughed.

“Landon paid him ten thousand Galleons,” I suggested.

“Nope,” Landon grinned, “It's because I am the most well behaved Gryffindor fifth year boy.”

“That doesn't bode well for your class,” Victoire said.

“I know,” Landon said, “My turn. Amy, how do you know so much about werewolves?”

I should have known it was coming. I should have just not agreed to play the game.

“She's got a fascination with them,” Landon replied.

“She's just smart,” Victoire said.

“Neither,” I shook my head, “My dad works for Werewolf Support Services.”

“Then you do know more than Monica,” Teddy said.

“Yeah, I kind of do,” I nodded. If only he knew the main reason. “So, Teddy, what do you want to do when you leave Hogwarts?”

“He wants to play professional Quidditch,” Victoire said immediately.

“He's got no idea,” Landon laughed.

“They're both right,” Teddy shrugged.

We continued playing the game for a few minutes, but then it got boring and everyone except Teddy agreed that they should do some homework. Teddy reluctantly agreed, but mostly goofed off while the rest of us worked.

My mind wandered while I worked on my homework and I only accomplished half of what I wanted to. I was nervous about going into the bush and about what my parents were going to say about it. I assumed Longbottom's owl had gotten to them, but they hadn't sent anything to me. They were probably too occupied with Matt, but I was guessing they'd mention something in their after-the-full-moon owl.

******

It was already dark when Victoire, Teddy, Landon, and I made our way down to Hagrid's hut after dinner. None of us had seen Monica, nor did we really care if she actually showed up. I was hoping she wouldn't.

Teddy knocked on Hagrid's door when we got there. Hagrid opened it and greeted us.

“'Ello, isn't there supposed to be five of yeh?” Hagrid asked.

“We have no idea where Kramer is,” Teddy shrugged.

“Well, we'll wait for her,” Hagrid said.

We waited ten minutes before she finally showed up. She completely ignored the rest of us and stood with her hands on her hips while Hagrid gave instructions.

“We're lookin' fer Luptaline Plants,” Hagrid began, “They only flower on the full moon, but it's the leaves that Professor Slughorn wants.”

Hagrid pulled a small plant out of one of the buckets he was holding and held it up. It looked like a small cluster of clover.

“They look just like clover, which is why we 'ave to harvest 'em on the full moon, when they flower,” Hagrid continued, “Now yeh each can take a bucket and harvest as many as yeh can in an hour. And we 'ave to stick together. I don' want any of yeh runnin' off by yerselves.”

That wouldn't be a problem for me. I grabbed a bucket and followed Hagrid into the bush.

It took about two minutes for me to figure out why they called it 'The Forbidden Forrest'. The place was nothing like the bush near my house in Australia or even the one near my house in England. It was dark, menacing, and every little noise sounded scary.

I didn't even think it was because of the fact that it was nighttime or even that there was a full moon. It was just a naturally scary bush. The trees were entwined with each other and their roots were occasionally a foot out of the ground. There were shadows running everywhere and owls hooting and other animals making noises.

We all lit our wands, but the bush seemed to suck up all the light and they barely lit up three feet in front of us. The only thing the wand light was good for was locating the Lupatine Plants.

They were fairly easy to locate because their flowers were the most brilliantly white flower I'd ever seen in my life. In fact, the only thing as brightly white I'd seen was the moon. I supposed that had something to do with why they only flowered during full moons.

“What are these things even used for?” Teddy asked as he pulled a clump of Lupatine out of the ground.

“All sorts of potions,” I replied, “They're in nearly every appearance changing potion, except for ones that give you animal like qualities. They're also in Wolfsbane potion and some other potions.”

“Whoa,” Teddy said, “Are you a potions genius, too?”

“I just like potions,” I shrugged, “And astronomy. But really, I'm not that good at Defense class. Just the dangerous creatures part of it.”

“Dangerous creatures,” Teddy mused as he looked up at the sky. You couldn't see the moon, though. The trees were too dense. “Watch this.”

Teddy set his bucket down on the ground and cupped his hands over his mouth. He turned to Monica, who was a few meters away, and howled.

Monica dropped her bucket and turned around. But Teddy had already bent down and it looked like he was busy harvesting plants.

“What was that?” Monica asked anxiously.

“'S nothin',” Hagrid assured her, “Jus' an animal.”

“Teddy, was that you?” Victoire whispered.

Teddy nodded and Landon had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing.

“I bet I can howl better than you can,” Landon said to Teddy.

“Bet you can't,” Teddy countered, “Howling's in my blood.”

Landon hid behind a tree and let out a low, pitiful howl. Monica jumped again and started looking around. Teddy and Landon could no longer contain their laughter.

“Shut up, both of you!” Monica shouted, which only made them laugh harder.

“Enough,” Hagrid said, “Yer in detention. Now get back to work.”

We worked quietly for a few more minutes. Monica was quite a distance away from us, but we could still see her. Hagrid was wandering around watching us, but not harvesting anything.

My bucket was about half-full when I heard another low howl. This one was much better than Landon's. I turned and looked at Teddy, who grinned back at me. Landon was silently laughing and Victoire was rolling her eyes. Teddy howled again, a little louder this time.

Monica jumped two feet in the air and took off running as if something was chasing her. I think she was trying to run out of the bush, but I had no idea if she was going in the right direction.

“Monica!” Hagrid shouted and then turned to us, “Stay here.”

Hagrid took off after Monica and we all looked at each other.

“I think you went too far,” Victoire said quietly, “She could run into trouble out there.”

“I didn't think she'd actually run away,” Teddy shrugged.

“Yeah, well, once is funny, but you took it too far,” Victoire said.

“You were laughing, too,” Teddy pointed out.

“Not during that last one,” Victoire said.

“She's a git, Victoire,” Teddy muttered.

“You think I don't know that?” Victoire shouted, “She's been nothing but rude to me this entire year, but before that she was my friend.”

“Just don't hang out with her anymore. She seems to like her other friends better anyway,” Teddy pointed out.

“It's not that easy,” Victoire groaned, “I share a dormitory with her.”

The conversation ended right there because Hagrid returned with Monica. It hadn't taken him long to find her, probably due to his ability to walk faster than she could run.

“All righ', tha's it,” Hagrid announced, “Yeh can go back to the castle now.”

We walked silently out of the bush and dropped the Lupatine plants off at Hagrid's hut. He walked us back up to the castle and Monica took off ahead of us as soon as we got inside.

Neither Teddy, Victoire, or Landon said a word as we walked up to Gryffindor Tower, so I didn't either.

“I'm going to the Room of Requirement,” Victoire muttered when we got to the seventh floor.

“Want me to come?” Teddy asked.

“No,” Victoire said, “But you can come, Amy.”

“Er, ok,” I said as I followed her to the Room. Teddy and Landon said goodbye and I heard Teddy mention something about 'girl stuff'.

Why Victoire wanted me of all people to go with her to the Room was beyond me. She'd known Teddy her entire life. Why wouldn't she want him to go? What did she even want to do there?

The Room as Victoire asked for it was simple yet elegant at the same time. It was kind of fancy, but not the showy fancy that Cinda liked. The Room was small and decorated in white and pale pink. Unfortunately, it reminded me of my room at Richard and Cinda's house. There was a pink plushy couch and a few pink chairs with a white table in the middle.

Victoire threw herself face down on the couch as soon as I had shut the door and burst out in tears. I stood awkwardly near the door with absolutely no idea as what to do.

I have never been the kind of person who could comfort someone else. It had been hard enough to comfort my mum over the summer, but comforting someone whom I had lived with for months but didn't really know? Now that was even harder.

“I d-don't know what t-to do,” Victoire sobbed, “She's b-been my b-best friend for three years.”

I sat down in one of the chairs, still unsure of what to do. Even when Olivia had been upset it had been difficult for me to know how to comfort her. Really, the only person I was actually good at comforting was Matt and that had only come about recently. I used to be horrible at comforting him.

Not only did I have no idea how to comfort people, I really didn't know what Victoire was going through. I had never had a huge fight with a friend before. Olivia and I rarely fought and when we did it was over minor stuff. Kenzie and I never fought.

“Well, people change,” I finally decided to say.

“I know,” Victoire wailed, “That's what's so bad! She's become a totally new person.”

“That just proves that it's her fault and not yours,” I shrugged.

“I just don't know what to do now,” Victoire said as she lifted her head up, “We were together all the time. When I think about it, she and Teddy are my only good friends.”

That sounded really familiar. “Well, in Australia, I had two really good friends. Olivia, my roommate. And Kenzie, a Muggle who lives near my grandparents. Now, Olivia rarely owls me and Kenzie's a Muggle, so it's hard to stay in contact with her.”

“Half the reason Monica and I became friends was because neither of us are that into Quidditch,” Victoire went on, “Samantha, Seren, and Alyssa are all obsessed with it. That's the reason Monica and I started hanging out, because the other three just talked about Quidditch. Hanging out with them is like hanging out with Teddy.”

“Olivia and I became friends because of a mutual dislike of the other girls in our year,” I explained. Suddenly, Victoire and I seemed to have a lot in common.

“But she hasn't owled you much?” Victoire asked as she sat up.

“No,” I sighed and moved onto the couch, “I guess it doesn't matter because we'd probably never see each other again anyway.”

“Why?” Victoire asked, “Don't you go back to Australia to visit your grandparents?”

“Yeah,” I said quietly, “But our parents don't get along at all. To the point of them not letting each of us go to each other's houses.”

“Wow,” Victoire gaped at me, “That's not good.”

“No, it's not,” I sighed. By some stroke of luck, Victoire didn't ask me why our parents didn't get along.

“We're sort of in the same boat, then,” Victoire pointed out.

“I guess we are,” I agreed.

Chapter 59: Moaning Myrtle

“Victoire, Victoire, wake up!” I hissed as I nudged her arm.

I had woken up two minutes ago and realized we were still in the Room of Requirement. That and it was nine o'clock, which was when we were supposed to be in double potions.

“What is it?” she yawned.

“It's after nine o'clock,” I told her, “We're late for potions.”

“Shit!” she shouted and jumped off the pink couch.

We ran out of the Room as fast as we could and went back to Gryffindor Tower. It took us five minutes to change and grab our books before running all the way down to the dungeons. We skipped brekkie.

Everyone was already brewing when we slowly pushed open the door to the dungeon. Slughorn was at his desk.

“You two are late,” he announced as we walked in.

“Sorry, sir,” we said at the same time.

“We're brewing in pairs today, so you two can work together,” Slughorn told us, “And five points from Gryffindor for your tardiness.”

Victoire and I set to work at brewing that day's potion. Willinson was nowhere near us, so we didn't have to deal with his comments. It didn't seem to matter that we were late since the potion didn't need the entire two classes to simmer. Slughorn even pronounced it excellent when we handed in our flask at the end of class.

“That's probably the best I've ever done in potions,” Victoire said as we left, “I think I'll brew with you every class.”

“Then you can help me in Transfiguration,” I said.

“Sure,” Victoire said, “I just desperately need to do better in potions next year if I want to become a Healer.”

In the chaos that had been waking up late and nearly missing potions, I had completely forgotten about the full moon. It was the first time that had happened since before Matt was bitten. I was immediately reminded when Jasper showed up at lunch, however.

“Oh, he's a nice owl,” Victoire commented.

“Thanks,” I said, “He's my parents' owl.”

“Is that about the detention?” Victoire gestured to the letter.

“Probably,” I said as I put it in my robes, “I'll open it later.”

“At least you didn't get a howler,” Teddy said as he sat down, “You two missed it this morning. My gran sent it. She sends a mean howler.”

“I've never gotten one,” I said.

“Consider yourself lucky,” Teddy replied, “I get at least two every year. Once I got one from my gran and Victoire's grandma for the same thing.”

“Which is why I'm not depressed that I missed this one,” Victoire smirked, “I'm sure I'll get to see another soon.”

I opened the letter after classes were over. Victoire had to go talk to Slughorn about doing extra credit for potions, so I went to the Room and read the letter in private.

Dear Amy,

How is school? We miss you a lot.
Things are pretty much the same
at home. Nothing unusual happened
during the full moon.

We got a letter from Professor
Longbottom about you being disruptive
in the library. That's not like you.
We'll talk about it over the Easter
holiday.

Speaking of Easter, Uncle Jack was
able to get a few days off work and
he's going to come and visit. Write
soon and we'll see you in a month!

Love,
Mum, Dad, Matt, and Ellie

I grinned as I folded the letter up, despite the fact that my parents wanted to talk about the incident in the library. Uncle Jack was going to visit! He had never seen our house in England. The best part was that he was coming while I was home.

“Are your parents angry about the library thing?” Victoire asked when she returned with her extra credit.

“They want to talk about it over Easter,” I groaned.

“Oh, you're going home for Easter?” Victoire asked.

“Er, yeah,” I said, “Don't most people?”

“No,” Victoire shook her head, “Most of us just stay here and study for our exams.”

“Well, my uncle's coming to visit over the holiday, so I'm definitely going home. He lives in New York and we don't see him a lot,” I explained.

“That'll be fun, then,” Victoire said.

******

Three months and five days. That was how long it had been since Olivia sent me a letter. Her owl showed up a week after the full moon and I dug through her old letters to find out exactly how long it had been.

I sat on my bed holding the letter in my hands, staring at it. Why had she waited three months to send me a letter? What made her send one now?

The door opened and Victoire walked into the room. “Want to go to the kitchens with me? I'm starved.”

I didn't reply. I had never been to the kitchens and on any other day I may have wanted to go.

“Amy?” Victoire asked, “Are you ok?”

“Olivia sent me a letter,” I said, “After three months of not sending one.”

“Have you opened it?” Victoire asked as she sat down on my bed.

I shook my head.

“Open it,” she said.

I nodded and started ripping the envelope open. I pulled the letter out and read it silently, not even caring if Victoire read it over my shoulder.

Amy,

I'm really sorry I haven't written
you back until now. I guess I just
got busy. Fifth year started a few
months ago. The amount of work is
insane.

How have you been? How is Hogwarts?
Are you still really behind in your
classes? I hope you made some new
friends. How's your brother doing?

I don't know exactly how to tell you
this, so I'm just going to say it.
Lisa is sharing my dorm with me now.
She and Carmen had this huge fight and
she asked for a dorm change this year.
They assigned her to our room.

I was really mad about it at first,
because I didn't want another roommate
ever. But she's honestly not that bad.
I think she was rude to us because of
Carmen.

I'm going to her house for Easter. I'll
try and let you know how it goes, but
I'll apologize in advance if I don't
send letters as often.

You'll always be my friend, but it's
just hard because we never see each
other. Even when you're in Australia
we can't see each other.

Your friend,
Olivia

I set the letter down on my bed and squeezed my eyes shut. Victoire put her hand on my shoulder, which told me that she had read the letter.

I should have known it was coming. How can two people stay best friends when they never see each other? Olivia would see Lisa all the time. They were now roommates like Olivia and I had once been.

Olivia was going to Lisa's house. After they'd been friends for three months. Olivia didn't go to my house until a little over a year ago.

“Do you want to write her back?” Victoire asked quietly.

“I'll do it later,” I stuffed the letter back into the envelope and put it in my trunk, “Show me the kitchens.”

Victoire nodded and we left Gryffindor Tower. She didn't say one word about the letter on our way to the kitchens, which I was grateful for. I didn't want to talk about it.

The kitchens were under the Great Hall, behind a large portrait of a bowl of fruit. All you had to do to get in was tickle the pear and a doorknob would appear.

“How do you know so much about the castle?” I asked.

“That map Teddy was talking about,” Victoire said, “And my aunts and uncles know more about this place than Kendrick probably does.”

I never found the kitchens in Australia, so I was amazed by the kitchens at Hogwarts. It was one very large room filled with tables, ovens, and more food than I had ever seen in my life. There were more House Elves than I had ever seen in my life and five of them ran up to us when we walked in.

“Can we get yous anything?” one of them asked.

“Chocolate cake,” Victoire said immediately and then looked at me.

“Anything I want?” I asked.

“Yep,” Victoire nodded.

“Chocolate ice cream with whipped cream,” I said.

The House Elves left and Victoire and I waited near the door.

“They just get you anything you want whenever you want?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Victoire said, “They love it when students come down here.”

“Is this against the rules?” I asked.

“I'm not even sure,” Victoire shrugged, “Everyone who knows where the kitchens are comes down here.”

One of the House Elves returned a few minutes later with a large slab of chocolate cake and a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream. We went up to the Room of Requirement to eat it and I imagined what Matt was going to think when I told him you could get chocolate cake and ice cream whenever you wanted at Hogwarts.

******

My friendship with Victoire reminded me of a potion that would refuse to boil for a half hour and then all of a sudden it would boil over the top of the cauldron. For months we had hardly said anything to each other and then all of a sudden, we did everything together. I soon learned that we really had a lot in common.

Our family lives couldn't have been anymore different, though. Victoire's family was loud, boisterous, and huge. I soon met all of her cousins that were at Hogwarts, although I'd never remember all of their names. In a way they all reminded me of Kenzie's family. Everyone looked after each other and I almost wished I had that many cousins. Or any first cousins, really.

Despite our familial differences, we really were quite alike. Both of us were very studious, even though we had subjects we were awful at. We could both sit in the library reading for hours without talking to anyone. Neither of us were really into Quidditch, although we both had brothers who loved it yet had no skill at it whatsoever.

I never mentioned Monica and Victoire never mentioned Olivia. I did write Olivia back, but didn't really expect her to write me again anytime soon. For some reason it didn't even bother me. I had been upset when her letter arrived, but it just didn't bother me anymore.

There was still the issue of me keeping secrets from Victoire, though. When the next full moon came, I tried as hard as I could to act normal and not make my worrying too obvious, but I wasn't sure if it worked.

It had been the second full moon in a row that I hadn't spent in the Hospital Wing helping Madam Pomfrey. I spent the evening studying with Victoire, Teddy, and Landon, and realized that I didn't want to go bottle potions.

Jasper turned up at lunch and it was then that I realized how hard it would be to keep Matt's lycanthropy a secret. Victoire and I spent every second of every day with each other, pretty much. I was going to have to sneak off to the toilet to read the letter.

“I'll meet you in Ancient Runes,” I told Victoire as I got up, “I've got to use the toilet.”

Victoire nodded and I left. There wasn't much time before Ancient Runes and I was going to have to use the second floor bathroom, which was closest to the Runes classroom. I hated that bathroom. It was always flooded. Actually, I hadn't actually used it yet because the water leaking out of the bottom of the door put me off from it.

The bathroom was flooded as usual and I shut myself in a stall to open the letter. It was very short. Mum just told me that Matt was ok and she'd see me in a few days when the Easter holiday started.

“Ooo, a letter!” A ghost of a very young girl flew through the stall door.

I shrieked. I shrieked like Monica had when Teddy howled during that detention.

The ghost laughed manically and flew up to the ceiling. She floated down until she was hovering right in front of me.

“Bad news?” she asked excitedly, “From home?”

“Er, no,” I said, my heart still pounding fast, “Very good news, actually.”

“Well, isn't that just lovely!” the ghost burst out in tears, “Everyone gloats about their good news in front of poor Myrtle! Poor Myrtle doesn't get good news! You want to know why? Because she's dead, that's why!”

The ghost (who I presumed was named Myrtle) soared up to the ceiling again and then plunged herself into the toilet.

“Er, well, I've got to get to class, then,” I said awkwardly as I left the stall and then ran out of the bathroom as fast as my soaking wet feet could take me.

Whenever I thought I was finally getting used to Hogwarts, something weird would happen. The ghost in the bathroom was a perfect example. Back to avoiding the place, I guessed. As it turned out, there was a better reason than a flood to avoid it.

“Did you know,” I whispered to Victoire as I slid into the seat next to hers in Ancient Runes, “That there is a mad ghost in the girls' bathroom on the second floor?”

Victoire laughed. “Oh, you mean Moaning Myrtle?”

“That's an understatement,” I rolled my eyes, “She started crying hysterically and plunged herself into the toilet because I told her my letter from home wasn't bad news.”

“That's normal for Myrtle,” Victoire replied, “She's obsessed with death. I mean, even for a ghost, she's obsessed with death. I try to avoid the place.”

“I will, too, from now on,” I said.

******

When Victoire said everyone stayed at Hogwarts over the Easter holidays, she meant it. There were probably around 15 people on the Hogwarts Express that Thursday. About half of them were first years and only two were older than me. None of them were students I recognized.

I got a compartment to myself, which wasn't all that difficult. It would have been harder to locate a compartment that had someone else in it, actually. The trip was relatively boring and I read for part of it and slept the rest.

Dad was the only one waiting for me on the platform when the train arrived in London. He was still wearing his work robes, so I figured he went straight to the station from the Ministry.

“Amy,” he gave me a hug, “I missed you.”

“Missed you, too,” I said and hugged him back. Dad grabbed my trunk and put his other arm around me and we Apparated home.

The house was quiet when we walked through the door. Dad dragged my trunk upstairs while I wandered into the kitchen. Mum and Ellie were cooking dinner and Matt was sitting at the island. He turned around when I came in and jumped off the stool. He ran towards me and threw his arms around me.

“Matt,” I picked him up and hugged him, “I missed you.”

“I'm glad you're back,” he said as I set him down on the stool, “Uncle Jack's coming on Saturday.”

“Oh, is he flying in that day?” I asked Mum.

“Yes,” Mum put down a wooden spoon and gave me a hug, “Welcome home.”

“So, what are we going to do while he's here?” I asked as I sat down next to Matt.

“We're going to a Chudley Cannons match!” Matt said excitedly.

“Seriously?” I raised my eyebrows at Mum. The Quidditch World Cup in Australia had been fun, but that was the World Cup. The Cannons were some random British team that apparently were really bad. Going to one of their matches wasn't exactly my idea of fun.

“Yes, we're all going,” Mum smiled, “Matt's been begging to go to one ever since you got him that jersey for Christmas. We figured we'd wait until you were home.”

“Thanks,” I rolled my eyes. Why had I gotten him that jersey again?

“It'll be fun,” Dad said as he walked into the kitchen, “They're playing some team called Puddlemere United.”

“If what I've heard is true, Puddlemere United is going to kill the Cannons,” I replied, “So don't bet any money on the Cannons winning.”

“No one's betting any money on anything,” Mum said as she set a large bowl of salad on the table.

My parents wanted to hear all about school during dinner, so I told them about Victoire, Teddy, and Landon. They looked very happy that I had managed to find friends, but neither of them mentioned my detention.

Matt and I played Exploding Snap while Mum and Dad cleaned up the kitchen, until Matt's face was covered in so much ash that Mum made him go wash it. Then Dad beat me in a few rounds of wizard's chess while Matt fell asleep on the couch. I guess he was still tired from the full moon.

After Dad carried Matt upstairs to bed, he and Mum sat down on the couch opposite from the chair I was sitting in and I could tell from the looks on their faces that they were going to bring up the detention.

“Amy, what happened?” Dad asked quietly.

“Remember that girl, Monica?” I sighed, “Well, I was studying with Victoire, Teddy, and Landon in the library....”

I told them the entire story. Monica's harsh statements to Victoire, Teddy and Monica's near duel, and the detention itself. Plus, I told them that Victoire and I really hadn't done anything besides yell a bit too loudly in the library. By the time I finished the story, my parents looked relieved.

“Just please try to ignore this Monica girl,” Mum sighed and shook her head.

“I do,” I replied, “And it'll be easier now that Victoire's not friends with her anymore.”

“And don't shout in the library anymore,” Dad said, “You know better than that.”

“I know,” I shrugged, “It's just hard to keep quiet when Monica starts talking. She knows how to get to me.”

Mum and Dad looked at each other. “We understand,” Dad said quietly. I was pretty sure both he and Mum were thinking about Ralph Lubar.

“I'm going to go upstairs,” I said, figuring the conversation was over, “Good night.”

My parents said good night back and I went upstairs to my room. I dug some pajamas out of my trunk and climbed into bed after I changed. It was kind of early to go to bed, so I read for a few hours before falling asleep.

I fell asleep very quickly. Even though I was getting along well with most of my roommates, there was something comforting about sleeping in your own bed. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't have to put a silencing charm around it before drifting off to sleep. Or perhaps it was the solitude of being alone in my room. But I think it was more because I knew I was home, surrounded by the people who cared about me.

Chapter 60: Cannons Quidditch

The next day reminded me of the previous summer. Dad was at work and the rest of us spent the day at home, basically being lazy. I brewed potions and then Mum reluctantly let Matt go exploring in the bush with me. She didn't really need to worry. I knew my way around that bush and it was a warm day with hardly a cloud in the sky. Very strange for Britain. It reminded me of Australia.

Uncle Jack flew in very early on Saturday morning. By very early I mean that his plane arrived in London at 5:30. I went with Dad to meet him, but Mum and Matt stayed home. They were both asleep.

Mum was awake by the time we got back home around 6:30. We stopped in Diagon Alley to pick up muffins for brekkie. I had never seen Diagon Alley so empty before. It seemed like the ideal time to go grocery shopping.

“Now this is a house!” Jack announced as soon as he walked inside. He stood in the doorway looking around with a big grin on his face.

“I thought of you as soon as we first saw it,” Dad smirked.

“It's my kind of place,” Jack said as he walked into the living room.

“Jack,” Mum walked into the room, “How was your flight?”

“Same as usual,” Jack replied, “How have you been?”

Mum and Dad updated Jack on their lives as we walked into the kitchen. Dad set the muffins down on the table and we all settled down to eat.

“Are you liking Hogwarts any better now, Amy?” Uncle Jack asked me.

“Yeah,” I shrugged, “It's nothing like Australia, but I'm getting used to it. But I don't think I'll ever get used to watching Quidditch matches in the middle of blizzards. I don't know why Professor Kendrick doesn't just postpone them.”

“Probably because there just aren't enough Saturdays with good weather here during the Quidditch season,” Uncle Jack explained.

“I just hope it's warm when we go to that Cannons match this week,” I said.

We saved a few muffins for Matt and then gave Uncle Jack the grand tour of the house. He absolutely loved my new potions room and the big library upstairs. We stayed in there for a while because Uncle Jack wanted to browse through Dad's books.

“I didn't know you had half of these,” Jack said as he picked up one of the numerous books on lycanthropy.

“Feel free to borrow any of them,” Dad said, “I've read all of them anyway.”

“All of them?” Jack raised his eyebrows.

“All of the ones on lycanthropy,” Dad said quietly.

“You should write a book on lycanthropy,” Jack replied.

“I probably could,” Dad said.

Once we finished giving Uncle Jack the tour of the house, I played chess against him in the living room. He won every single match. That was one thing I liked about Uncle Jack; he never let me win anything. When I was younger, my parents always let me win games. Uncle Jack never did. He never let Matt win anything either.

“Uncle Jack!” Matt came running down the stairs a little while later. He promptly tripped over Uncle Jack's suitcase and landed on top of our chess board, much to the dismay of the chessmen.

“Careful,” Jack said as he pulled Matt onto his lap, “You all right?”

“Fine,” Matt shrugged, “When did you get here?”

“About three hours ago,” Uncle Jack replied.

“You should've woken me up,” Matt said.

“Your parents don't like it when people wake you up,” Uncle Jack told him.

“Want to go explore the bush?” Matt asked him, “Amy, do you want to?”

“Of course,” I grinned.

“You have to eat brekkie first,” Mum told Matt, “There's muffins in the kitchen.”

Matt decided to just eat his muffins as we were walking to the bush. The hours flew by while we were out there and we didn't return home until it began to sprinkle and it was time for lunch. I could've stayed out longer, though.

Uncle Jack is probably my favorite person to go exploring with. He knows so much random stuff about wildlife. Even in England, a place he has only visited and never lived before, he had so much to tell us about the plants and animals we saw.

One thing that I found really interesting was that you could brew a potion to negate the effects of poisonous snake venom with dandelion roots, maple leaves, and bark from a pine tree.

The whole weekend and beginning of the following week passed much like that day had. Matt, Uncle Jack, and I would go exploring everyday. Mum and Dad would occasionally join us. Jack introduced himself to the farmer who lived next door and they talked for quite a while about growing vegetables.

******

Matt was the first one up the day of the Chudley Cannons match. I couldn't remember the last time he had been the first one to wake up in the morning. I guess there was something about the anticipation of seeing Quidditch players clad in orange robes lose spectacularly to another team that caused one to not need a full night's sleep.

“Amy, wake up!”

“Huh?” I blinked and saw Matt, clad in his oversized Cannons jersey, with a big grin on his face. “What time is it?”

“Seven o'clock,” he replied.

“You're up,” I yawned, “Really early.”

“I know.”

“The match isn't until two,” I groaned.

“I know,” he said and then ran out of the room.

Despite the earliness, I was very happy to see him so excited. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had seen him this excited about something and that was kind of sad. Maybe I didn't like Quidditch that much. Maybe the idea of watching Matt's new favorite team get their arses kicked didn't interest me. But I was going to pretend to be excited for Matt's sake.

Going back to bed was a fruitless effort, so I went downstairs and found that Mum and Dad were awake as well. They were both drinking cups of coffee while Matt rattled off Chudley Cannons statistics.

“And in 1972 they changed their motto to 'Let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best',” Matt said, “It used to be 'We shall conquer', but they hadn't won the league since 1892, and they still haven't.”

“Morning, Amy,” Dad said.

“Morning,” I replied as I dug through the cabinets for some cereal, “Uncle Jack still asleep?”

“Yeah, I couldn't get him up,” Matt shrugged.

“You get your ability to sleep through anything from him,” Dad smirked, “I used to shave off his eyebrows in his sleep when we were kids. He never once woke up while I did it.”

“Did you know that Dragomir Gorgovitch holds the record for most Quaffle drops in one season?” Matt asked, “He used to play for the Cannons.”

“That's not something to be proud of,” Dad laughed.

“I don't think he is,” Matt replied, “But he's famous for it.”

By the time afternoon arrived and it was time for the match, I knew more Chudley Cannons trivia than I ever cared to. Matt was still reading the trivia book out loud as we left the house and walked to the end of our property to Apparate. The only reprieve I got from his trivia reading was during the side-along Apparition. I went with Dad and Matt went with Uncle Jack.

The Quidditch pitch was located in Exmoor National Park, which I had never heard of before we got there. There were a lot of people Apparating nearby the pitch and most of them were clad in blue and gold. A very small, but boisterous, group was wearing bright orange. It appeared that there were far more Puddlemere United fans than Cudley Cannons fans.

There was a wizard taking tickets near the door to the pitch and Dad handed him all of ours. We followed the signs to the top level of stands and located our seats. They were very good. With Quidditch, it's best to be higher up in the stands. Then you don't have to crane your neck to see what's going on.

We were surrounded by Puddlemere United fans. A fair few of them had painted their faces blue and gold and all of them were wearing jerseys. My family looked quite out of place. Matt because of his Cannons jersey and the rest of us because of our lack of jerseys.

“Welcome to the Puddlemere United versus Chudley Cannons match at the Exmoor pitch!” a wizard announced, “The match will commence shortly. Please find your seats.”

Five minutes later, the wizard was back to commentating. “The teams have walked out onto the pitch! Captain Spencer Wilson of Puddlemere United is shaking hands with Captain Francis Piedmont of the Chudley Cannons. The teams mount their brooms, and they're off!”

I watched as all fourteen players flew into the air. One of the Puddlemere players took immediate possession of the Quaffle and scored a goal within two minutes.

The Puddlemere fans sitting near us jumped up and started shouting and high-fiving each other. Puddlemere scored three goals shortly after and they performed the same ritual after each goal.

“Damorofitz of the Cannons is in possession!” the commentator shouted, “Oh, and he dropped it.”

I glanced over at Matt and saw that he was paying rapt attention. He didn't look that disappointed for someone whose team was losing 0-50.

This Quidditch match was unlike any I had seen before. Most of the Quidditch matches I'd been to had been at school. The main difference was that I was pretty sure the Chudley Cannons were worse than any of the teams at Hogwarts or Australia. I had never seen such an awful Quidditch team before. It was kind of weird that any of the players had made it to professional Quidditch, due to their apparent lack of skill.

“Damorofitz has hold of the Quaffle again!” the commentator said, “And he's flying down the pitch. And he's still flying down the pitch! Merlin, he's done it! Damorofitz of the Chudley Cannons has scored their first goal of the match.”

Matt started jumping up and down and cheering. The Puddlemere fans looked at him and smiled. I overheard the one who was sitting next to me say how adorable he was. I could sort of see why. He was the only one in our general vicinity rooting for the Cannons (well, the rest of my family was, but not nearly as vigorously as Matt was) and he was wearing a very oversized jersey. Plus, before the match started, he had asked Uncle Jack to write 'Go Cannons' on his forehead in orange marker.

“If they catch the Snitch, they'll win!” Matt said excitedly.

The Puddlemere fans stifled their laughs and we all got back to watching the match.

“Puddlemere is in possession,” the commentator went on, “They are passing the Quaffle faster than the Cannons can keep up. And, oh! Beater Loyd of the Cannons has somehow managed to hit a Bludger at himself. Seeker Biner has managed to catch him as he fell off his broom. Well, now we know Biner can catch something, even if it's not the Snitch. Medi-wizards have ran onto the field to assist Loyd. Looks like the Cannons will have to bring in a reserve beater.”

It soon became apparent that the Cannons' reserve beater couldn't hit Bludgers at anything, not even himself. Every time he swung his bat, he would nearly fall off his broom.

The Cannons did manage to score a few more goals during the first half hour of the match, bringing the score to 100-30 Puddlemere. Matt cheered loudly every time the Cannons scored, earning him more of those grins adults give children when they're being cute from the Puddlemere fans.

“Seeker Avon of Puddlemere is now flying straight towards the middle of the Cannons goal posts!” the commentator said, “And Seeker Biner did some sort of turn around move, not sure what that was, and is now trying to follow Avon. Ouch! Bludger to the stomach for Biner. That must hurt.”

Avon made it to the goal posts and pulled up with his hand clamped around what must have been the Snitch. All the Puddlemere fans stood up and started cheering. I stood up just to see what was going on. Uncle Jack lifted Matt up to see what was going on.

“Avon has caught the Snitch! Puddlmere wins 260-30!”

Medi-wizards were once again flocking the pitch and I saw them carry Biner away on a stretcher. Two of the Cannons' players had been injured in one match.

“So, you're a Cannons fan?” the witch sitting next to me asked Matt.

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Well, better luck next time,” she smiled and then went back to cheering with everyone else.

It took us a while to leave the stands, but eventually we found our way back into the park.

“How did you like the match?” Dad asked Matt.

“It was brilliant!” Matt said, “I mean, it's not brilliant that the Cannons lost, but it was still fun. I didn't really expect them to win. They just need some new players. They would've won if their Seeker was better.”

And their Keeper, Beaters, and Chasers, I thought. It was nice that Matt was so optimistic about it. He could have been their spokesperson for their motto. If there was anyone who was crossing his fingers and hoping for the best, it was Matt.

We went to Diagon Alley because my parents needed to do some shopping and then we had dinner at the Leaky Cauldron because Uncle Jack really liked that place. I did, too, and we didn't eat there nearly as often as I would've liked. Hannah Longbottom, makes the best sandwiches I've ever had in my life.

“How much more school do you have?” Matt asked me as he ate his bacon sandwich.

“A little less than two months, I think,” I replied.

“I hope it goes by fast because Mum never lets me go exploring in the bush by myself,” Matt said.

“We can go exploring all the time in the summer,” I told him, “What are we going to do this summer anyway? Can we go on a holiday?”

“Possibly,” Dad shrugged, “We haven't really been on a proper holiday in a few years.”

That was for sure. The only times we had traveled recently was to look at houses and then move.

After we went back home we played a few rounds of Gobstones before Matt went to bed. Then I read in the living room while listening to Mum, Dad, and Uncle Jack's conversation.

“We should go to more Quidditch matches,” Mum said, “I haven't seen Matt that happy in months.”

“It was definitely a success,” Dad agreed, “If we had done that nine months ago, he would've spent the whole time too scared to watch.”

“He's changed so much since I last saw him,” Uncle Jack commented.

“We owe it all to Healer Norlam,” Dad said, “The man can work miracles.”

“It's you two as well,” Jack said, “You never give yourselves enough credit.”

“Perhaps,” Dad mused, “But we really couldn't have done it without Norlam.”

I hadn't really thought about it until my parents brought it up, but Matt really was a lot different. He hadn't been afraid of anyone at that Quidditch match and it had been very crowded.

“He'll never get completely over it, though,” Dad said quietly, “He'll never be the same.”

“Of course not,” Uncle Jack agreed, “People never stay the same. None of us are the same as we were when we were eight. Our experiences change us.”

“He's had experiences I wish he'd never had,” Dad sighed.

“I wish he hadn't, either, but we can't change the past. I'm not entirely convinced horrible experiences are bad for us, either. They make us appreciate the good times. Of course, I'd give anything to change the past so that Matt didn't have to go through all of that.”

“You've always been the optimist,” Dad said, “You see the good in everything.”

“I try,” Uncle Jack shrugged.

The room lapsed into comfortable silence and I got absorbed in my book once again. I went to bed a little while later and dreamt that Matt was the Chudley Cannons Seeker. And that his clumsy self was the best player on the team.

******

The remainder of the holiday went by fast. I brewed potions with Uncle Jack while Matt begged my parents to let him join us. That was one thing they were still very overprotective with, him brewing potions. They refused to let him brew with me before he had potions class at Hogwarts. I was kind of happy about that because as much as I liked spending time with Matt now, I liked being able to brew alone.

Mum, Dad, and Uncle Jack went out to dinner one evening without Matt and I because they needed 'adult time'. That was a sign that Mum thought I was mature because she had never let Matt stay home alone with me in the evenings before.

Uncle Jack flew back to New York on Saturday, the day before I went back to Hogwarts. We all went to the airport to see him off. His visit had gone by fast and I was sad to see him leave. He didn't know when he'd next be able to visit.

Everyone went with me to King's Cross the next day as well. I wasn't really that sad about going back to Hogwarts. I would miss my family, but there was less than two months of school left and I was looking forward to seeing Victoire again.

I spent the entire train ride doing the homework I had neglected to do over the holiday. One thing I wasn't looking forward to about going back to school was the fact that exams were coming up. I had yet to hear anything good about Hogwarts end of the year exams.

It was already dark by the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade. I climbed into one of the four carriages along with three students I didn't know. We arrived at the castle just in time for dinner and I squeezed in between Victoire and Landon at the Gryffindor table.

“How was your holiday?” Victoire asked.

“Fun,” I grinned, “My uncle was there for a week and we went to a Chudley Cannons match.”

Teddy and Landon burst out laughing. Teddy started coughing and turned red as he caught his breath. Then they both looked at each other and laughed some more.

“What?” I asked.

“How badly did they lose?” Teddy smirked.

“50-260,” I replied.

“Not so bad, then,” Teddy said, “50 points in a match, that's not bad for the Cannons. But why in the name of Merlin did you go to one of their matches? Do you support them? I know you're new to British Quidditch and all, but there are so much better teams out there.”

“Matt supports them,” I answered, “I got him a Cannons jersey for Christmas and he's been obsessed with them ever since.”

“Why a Cannons jersey?” Landon asked.

“They're the underdog,” I shrugged, “And my brother's always kind of been an underdog. I thought it was appropriate.”

“Wow, another Cannons fan,” Victoire sighed, “My Uncle Ron will be excited about this. He's the world's biggest Cannons fan.”

The rest of dinner was spent with Teddy and Landon explaining the details of all the British Quidditch teams, which to be honest, was not that interesting. The only interesting bit of information they told me was that one of the Montrose Magpies' current Chasers played for the Cannons for a year before joining the Magpies. Apparently she was the best player the Cannons had had in decades.

Victoire and I stayed up late talking about everything except Quidditch. By the time I crawled into my four-poster bed I was very content. I realized that it was the first time I went to bed completely happy and calm at Hogwarts. And that was a nice feeling.