Chapter 11
Chapter 61: An Interesting Combination
Once May arrived, the exams seemed so much closer. Victoire and I threw ourselves into our studies. I tutored her in potions and she tutored me in transfiguration. We spent hours upon hours in the library, only leaving to eat and sleep. Teddy and Landon joined us most of the time since they had O.W.L.s to study for. Victoire told me that it was the only time she'd really seen Teddy study.
“Still studying?” Victoire asked Teddy as we sat down at the table he and Landon were at in the common room. We had been at the library for a few hours.
“Nah,” Teddy shook his head, “Took a break in order to figure out what we want to do with our lives.”
“Longbottom's giving us career advice this week,” Landon gestured to a pile of pamphlets that littered the table.
“Oh, and are you going to train security trolls?” Victoire laughed as she pointed to the pamphlet Teddy was holding.
“Anything's a possibility at this point,” Teddy shrugged, “I have no idea what I want to do with my life.”
“What about you, Landon?” Victoire asked.
Landon was holding four pamphlets and trying to read them all at the same time. “No idea.”
“How can they expect us to figure out what we want to do when we're already worried about our O.W.L.s?” Teddy groaned and threw the troll pamphlet on the table.
“You, Theodore Remus Lupin, are worried about a test?” Victoire laughed.
“Possibly,” Teddy muttered.
I picked up a few pamphlets and started looking through them. There were pamphlets for just about every department in the Ministry, including the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. Then there was one for wizard lawyers, business, and at the bottom of the stack was one about healing.
The pamphlet was entitled, 'What You Need To Know About Healing'. I opened it up and started reading it.
Do you like helping people? Does blood not make you
queasy? Are you good at potions? If yes, then a
career in healing might be for you!
There are many fields one can get into in healing,
including research. Training involves four years
of study at St. Mungo's, with the last two years
spent in one area of expertise you are interested
in.
There was then a very long list of the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s that were required. I turned to the last page of the pamphlet, which listed a bunch of famous healers. One of the last names on the list hit me like a bludger to the stomach.
Damocles Belby (1949-)- Healer Damocles Belby invented the Wolfsbane Potion in 1989. The potion changed the lives of many werewolves by allowing them to keep their minds while transforming. Belby received the Order of Merlin for his discovery.
I really don't know why it shocked me. Of course it had been a Healer who invented Wolfsbane Potion. Who else could have done it? I hadn't really thought much about it before. It would probably be a Healer who found a variation of it that would work for Matt.
My mind started racing. What if I became a Healer? I hadn't given a second thought to what I wanted to do with my life. Honestly, I had just wanted to get through this first year at Hogwarts. But now that year was almost over.... I would be a fifth year very soon.
Healing made sense. I loved potions. I'd already spent a good portion of my life in various hospitals. What if I could become a Healer? What if... I swallowed hard. What if I could create a new Wolfsbane Potion?
Potions and Astronomy, interesting combination. The words both Healer Norlam and Madam Pomfrey had said months ago hit me. I had had no idea what they meant by it at the time, but now I knew. It was so obvious! If someone was going to create a new version of Wolfsbane, they would need extensive knowledge of both Potions and Astronomy! Plus a good background on werewolves.
“Amy, are you all right?” Victoire asked, “You look like you've been stupefied.”
I jumped at the sound of her voice. I had forgotten that I was in the crowded common room. “I'm fine, I just, I have to go. I'll be back later.”
I ran out of the common room with the pamphlet before Victoire could say anything else. There was only one person in the school I could completely explain this to. I could tell Victoire I had decided to become a Healer, but I couldn't tell her why. The only person I could fully explain it to was Madam Pomfrey.
The Head Girl (a Hufflepuff who thinks rules are the greatest things in the world) yelled at me while I was running to the Hospital Wing, but I ignored her. Luckily she got distracted by a second year who was throwing a Quaffle at another second year and didn't pursue me.
Madam Pomfrey was busy with a student whose hair was growing at an alarming rate when I burst into the ward. I stood impatiently next to one of the beds while the nurse charmed the boy's hair back to normal.
“Are you all right, Amy?” Madam Pomfrey asked once the boy left, “You look a bit flushed.”
“It's because I ran here from Gryffindor Tower,” I explained, “I need to talk to you, in private.”
She nodded and lead me to her study. I started pacing around as soon as she shut the door and sat down in a chair.
“Is something wrong?” she asked concernedly.
“No,” I shook my head, “The fifth years have career advice this week and there were a bunch of pamphlets in the common room and I found this one,” I handed her the Healing pamphlet.
Madam Pomfrey looked at it and then smiled knowingly. “Ah, I never wondered if you would ever come talk to me about this. I wondered when.”
“You knew I would think about becoming a Healer?” I asked.
“Potions and Astronomy is a very interesting combination,” she said.
“It is, and I know what you meant by that now,” I said quietly.
“I've gotten the impression that you're very interested in healing. You always want to help me with potions,” she explained.
“I know and I've been thinking and I know it probably sounds mad and I know I shouldn't plan on doing it, but I really want to try and I think I might be able to,” I took a breath, “I want to find a new version of the Wolfsbane Potion. One that will work for Matt. If Sterling's study doesn't work.”
“That's quite the ambition,” Madam Pomfrey said, “I know I should not get your hopes up for such ambitions, but I do believe you have the right combination of abilities to accomplish it.”
“That's what I thought,” I said quietly, “If anyone's going to do this it's going to be someone who has knowledge in potions, astronomy, and knows a lot about werewolves.”
“It's not only that. You have the drive to do it. You have a reason to work hard at this. You have the right motivations. You would not be doing it for fame or fortune. You would be working at this for very unselfish reasons, and I do believe that is helpful in this sort of thing,” Madam Pomfrey elaborated.
I hadn't even thought about that, but it was true. Fame had never crossed my mind. All I wanted to do was make life easier for my brother and others like him.
“I think what you will be looking to get into with this sort of thing is research,” Madam Pomfrey went on, “However, you can't just be a research Healer from the start. You have to start out working in the hospital or setting up your own practice.”
“I want to work in the Creature-Induced Injury ward,” I said immediately, “Even when I'm researching, I want to work there.”
“As much as I believe you would make an excellent Healer, I want you to remember to keep your options open. You're only fifteen. You do not have to decide this yet,” Madam Pomfrey said.
“I won't change my mind,” I replied.
“I do not doubt that,” Madam Pomfrey said, “I am going to give you a bunch of information on the field of Healing, as well as a few career tests. I think you should take them. I know you have decided on Healing, but I want you to be aware of other options.”
Madam Pomfrey got up and started rummaging around in her filing cabinets. She handed me a very large stack of booklets and papers. They looked much more detailed than the pamphlet I had read in the common room.
“Feel free to ask me any questions,” Madam Pomfrey said.
I nodded. “Thanks.”
I said goodbye and then left the ward with my stack of booklets. I went straight to the Room of Requirement. There was still an hour left until curfew; plenty of time to get through some of the reading.
I turned the Room into my room from my house in Australia, just out of habit. I wasn't really homesick for Australia anymore.
The booklets were really interesting. Apparently there was a lot you could do in the field of Healing. You could be a nurse, a Medi-Wizard, or a Healer. Then there were different types of Healers. Healers who specialized in spell damage, creature-induced injuries, surgery, pediatrics, pregnancy, psychiatry, and psychology.
Then there were research opportunities in all of the different fields. The way it seemed to work was that you would work as a research assistant for a Healer who was already doing research and then either take over their research when they retired or branch out into your own research. It seemed rare that anyone would start out on their own, though.
That was reasonable. I could do that. I would train with Healer Sterling and then work in the Creature-Induced Injury ward at St. Mungo's. I could be his research assistant and then do my own research.
It was strange to plan out my entire life like that. I had never been one for planning. Usually I just took things as they came, never really thinking much about the future. Deciding on a career was pretty much the definition of planning. I was deciding what I wanted to devote my life to. I really couldn't think of anything else I'd rather do than Healing.
I did take Madam Pomfrey's career tests, just to appease her. I got the answer of 'Healer' on every single one. On the ones that were about which type of Healer I should become, I got 'Potions Researcher'. Every time. There was no variation.
I heard the door open and I jumped. How could other people get in the Room while I was there? It was only Victoire, luckily.
“Amy?” Victoire asked, “Have you been in here the whole time?”
“Erm, I went to see Madam Pomfrey first and then came here,” I told her, “How did you get in here?”
“The Room can sense if you want other people to be able to find you. You must have wanted me to be able to get in here,” Victoire explained, “But are you ok? You looked kind of funny in the common room.”
“I, I think I just figured out what I want to do with my life,” I said quietly.
“Really?” Victoire said as she walked over to me, “Teddy and Landon will be jealous. What did you decide?”
“I'm going to become a Healer,” I said, not elaborating on the research part. I didn't think I could explain that without giving away the fact that Matt was a werewolf.
“Really? That's great!” Victoire grinned, “We can train together. What made you decide?”
“I was just looking through the pamphlet about it and then I went to talk to Madam Pomfrey and she gave me all this other stuff,” I gestured to the multitude of booklets, “And I think it's really what I want to do.”
“It's almost curfew,” Victoire told me, “We should go back to the common room. I'm sure Teddy and Landon will want to know about your career decision.”
Teddy and Landon had both made career decisions by the time we got back to the common room. Teddy had decided to become a professional Quidditch player and Landon wanted to be a professional student. I was pretty sure he wanted to do that in order to put off his real career decision, not because he liked studying.
“Amy's got a career announcement to make,” Victoire said after Teddy and Landon told me about their ambitious aspirations.
“I'm going to become a Healer,” I told them.
“Great,” Teddy rolled his eyes, “Both the fourth years know what they want to do but we don't.”
“I think it's great,” Landon said, “Because you'll have two friends who are Healers and they can heal you when you get injured during professional Quidditch matches.”
“Very funny,” Teddy said flatly.
We stayed up a while later talking about Teddy and Landon's careers (or lack thereof) and then went to bed. I laid awake for hours. I just couldn't sleep. It was weird how that one pamphlet had changed the course of my life. Ok, so maybe that was a bit dramatic. Chances are I would have thought of becoming a Healer eventually.
I couldn't shake the feeling that I was going to go places as a Healer. I had heard of other people getting these weird feelings about stuff that they knew was going to happen, and then it really did happen. It wasn't exactly divination, but more like intuition. I had never had that feeling before, but I had it now. My research would lead somewhere. I could do it. I was going to find that new Wolfsbane Potion.
*******
After Double Potions the next day, I went to the Hospital Wing to show Madam Pomfrey my career test results. I waited until she was done giving a potion out to a Ravenclaw and then dropped the pile of results onto her desk.
“Healer,” I said, “All of them said I should be a Healer.”
“All of them?” Madam Pomfrey said as she picked up the stack, “That almost never happens. There's usually some variation...”
“There wasn't,” I said, “Every single one said Healer.”
Madam Pomfrey leafed through the stack of career tests and then looked at me. “All right, then. You can still do other things, though.”
“I don't want to do anything else,” I sighed. I wasn't sure why she kept telling me that. Was it really a bad thing that I knew what I wanted to do with my life?
“I will do whatever I can to help you, then,” Madam Pomfrey replied, “But you'd best be off to lunch before you run out of time.”
“Thanks,” I said. I took my stack of papers and left the Hospital Wing.
Teddy and Landon had their career advice meetings the next day. Victoire and I didn't get a chance to find out how either of them went until after dinner.
“How were your career meetings?” Victoire asked as we settled down for an evening of studying in the common room.
“The only good thing about it was that I got to miss part of History of Magic,” Teddy muttered.
“Same here, only it was Transfiguration that I got to miss,” Landon added.
Victoire and I looked at each other and smirked. “Well, what happened?” Victoire asked.
“Longbottom wasn't impressed with my idea to become a professional Quidditch player,” Teddy explained, “He said that I was a good Seeker, but that I shouldn't plan on actually playing professionally. And then he gave me a bunch of ideas, but I have no idea what I actually want to do.”
“Well, you have a few years to think about it,” I said.
“That's what I keep saying,” Teddy groaned.
“Well, you do have to choose your classes for next year,” Victoire pointed out, “And you're supposed to choose ones that you'll need for whatever career you want.”
“It's too early to figure that out,” Teddy muttered.
“And what about you, Landon?” Victoire asked.
“Longbottom didn't like my idea of being a professional student. So I told him I'd work in the Ministry, even though I don't really know if I want to do that. Then he gave me a bunch of pamphlets about the Ministry,” Landon told them.
“You know, Longbottom's a good teacher and an nice bloke, but he's kind of uptight about careers,” Teddy said, “I don't get it.”
“I think he just doesn't want us to waste our potential,” Victoire shrugged.
“He's going to love you two next year,” Landon rolled his eyes, “You'll just walk in, tell him you want to be Healers, and that'll be it.”
*******
I didn't owl my parents about my career choice. I'm not exactly sure why. It was the sort of thing they'd want to know about and probably be pretty excited about. I guess I just wanted to wait until I was home.
The next full moon came and I snuck away to open the letter from my parents. I didn't go to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, though. Matt hadn't been anymore injured than usual. There was only one full moon left in the school year.
Before I knew it, exams were upon us. I wasn't exactly sure where the month of May had gone, but it must have disappeared in a whirlwind of studying. Hogwarts had taken a small break from studying for the Quidditch final, which was between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Gryffindor won, which provided us with a much needed excuse to not study for a whole evening.
However, that only lasted one evening and then it was back to the books. Studying was only interrupted by Teddy and Landon's complaining about how much they had to re-learn.
Teddy and Landon began their O.W.L.s a week before Victoire and I began our regular exams. Neither of them cared to listen to us complain about our exams since theirs were apparently more grueling.
Exams were over the day of the June full moon. Victoire and I walked around the lake afterwards, enjoying the unusual sunny day.
“I can't believe fourth year is over,” Victoire said.
“Me either,” I agreed, “I was dreading coming here and now I love it.”
“Weird, isn't it? Amazing how one year can change so much,” Victoire mused.
I nodded. A year can change your life. So can one night. “I never thought I'd say this, but I am really glad we moved here.”
“I'm glad you did too,” Victoire agreed.
“Hey, Aussie!” Teddy shouted from behind us, “Victoire!”
We turned around and saw Teddy and Landon running to catch up with us.
“Last O.W.L. is finished! Teddy shouted.
“Congratulations,” Victoire and I said.
We continued walking around the lake until it was time for dinner. We didn't really do anything; just walked around. It was fun. It reminded me a lot of what I did in Australia with Olivia, only somehow different. Not a bad different, either.
I stayed up later that night than I had in weeks. Without anymore exams, we didn't have to worry about sleeping until noon the next day. The entire Gryffindor common room was in a party-like state much like that of the one following the Quidditch final.
I woke up the next morning to Jasper pecking me on the foot. I sat up and took the letter he had attached to his leg and he flew off. The dormitory was very quiet. I listened for a few more seconds and then carefully opened the letter. It looked like I wasn't going to have to sneak off to read this month's letter.
The letter was much like the ones I had been receiving all year. Matt was ok, but it would take a few days for him to be completely better. Last full moon of the school year. I would be home for the next one. I wondered where my parents would ship me off to this summer.
My curtains rustled and I looked up and saw Victoire's head peeking in between them. I quickly shoved the letter into its envelope. Victoire pulled the curtains open a bit more and then sat down on my bed.
“Who's that from?” she asked.
“Er, my parents,” I replied.
Victoire took a deep breath. “Ok, I've been wondering this for a while and I'm just going to ask. Every time you get a letter from your parents, you look all worried and half the time you run off to read it alone. Like the time you went to Myrtle's bathroom. Then after you read it, you're perfectly fine. Why?”
I sighed. I had had such an easier time sneaking off to read letters in Australia. Olivia didn't really suspect anything.
“It's my brother,” I said quietly, “He, er, gets sick a lot. And every time he does, my parents send me a letter to tell me. Usually he gets better pretty quickly, but sometimes he has to go to the hospital.”
“Oh,” Victoire said, “Is that why you want to be a Healer?”
“Yeah, mostly,” I said.
“Erm, is he ok?” Victoire asked.
I nodded. “He'll be fine in a few days.”
“That's good,” Victoire replied, “Want to go get breakfast,” she looked at the clock, “Er, lunch?”
******
“Your exam grades are excellent,” Healer Norlam smiled at me the following week, “I want to congratulate you.”
“Thanks,” I smiled.
Mostly thanks to Victoire's tutoring, I managed to pass everything. I got a perfect score in both Potions and Astronomy, did decently in Herbology, Ancient Runes, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Care of Magical Creatures, and squeaked by in Transfiguration and History of Magic.
“I'm not only talking about your grades, either,” Norlam went on, “You really seem to have adjusted to Hogwarts well. How do you feel about it?”
“I'm glad we moved here,” I said, “I honestly am now.”
“Which is more than your parents were ever hoping for,” Norlam chuckled, “Have you told them of your career aspirations yet?”
“No,” I shook my head, “I want to tell them after I go home.”
“I think they'll be very proud of you,” Norlam said, “Now I want to talk to you about something. When your parents arranged for you to meet with me, we never discussed whether it would continue after the year was up. What do you think?”
I had never really thought of whether I would see Norlam after the year was over. He was nice and I liked talking to him, but there were other things I wanted to do.
“Well, honestly, I'd rather just spend time with my friends next year...” I said.
Norlam smiled. “And that is how I know I've done my job and we don't have to do this anymore. Unless you want to, of course.”
“I don't think I really need to,” I shrugged, “Do you think my parents will want me to?”
“I've spoken with them and they've agreed to whatever you decide,” Norlam replied.
That was a first. My parents pretty much never agreed to whatever I wanted. They had actually let me decide something of my own life.
“I am sure I will see you again, even if it is not every week,” Norlam said, “I am very glad you like Hogwarts now.”
“Me, too,” I said as I stood up, “And thanks, for everything.”
Chapter 62: Home
The day before the Hogwarts Express left for London was spent packing. Samantha took down all her Quidditch posters, Victoire neatly folded all her clothes and somehow fit them all into her trunk, Monica threw everything haphazardly into her trunk and then snuck off to Hogsmeade with her friends, Teddy scoured the castle for all the stuff he'd lost over the year, and I watched everyone as I packed my own trunk.
It was times like these that made me realize how alike Hogwarts and the Australian School of Sorcery were. Though they were thousands of miles apart, the routines were the same. The last day of school was spent the same way.
As I sat in the common room with Victoire that night, I suddenly realized that I was actually going to miss the place. It was a very shocking realization. I was going to miss the Gryffindor common room, the Room of Requirement, Astronomy classes every Thursday, beating Willinson at Slughorn's potions contests, the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. I had adjusted to it and come to enjoy it. Hogwarts was my home now, for a good part of the year, and I was going to miss it. The castle had become my home away from home.
“I am going to miss Hogwarts,” I said in awe.
“I miss it every summer,” Victoire said, “Hey, do you want to come visit me this summer?”
“Yeah, sure,” I grinned, “When?”
“Probably in August,” Victoire replied, “I'm going to France to stay with my grandparents for two weeks in July.”
“I'll ask my parents,” I said.
“And I'll owl you with the exact dates,” Victoire said, “But we've got to owl each other all the time before that.”
“Victoire!” Teddy came running into the common room, “Aussie! Might want to get down to the grounds.”
“What did you do this time?” Victoire groaned and stood up.
Victoire and I followed Teddy and Landon down to the grounds, followed by most of the rest of the people who were in the common room. Everyone was wondering aloud as to what the two boys could have done this time.
We heard the fireworks before we saw them. They started going off as we were crossing the Entrance Hall. Everyone broke into a run and we wound up scattered throughout the grounds. The fireworks were the most amazing ones I had ever seen.
Big Snitches, broomsticks, and a variety of magical creatures. They all moved and seemed to last forever. They floated and soared around in the sky. They kept going for about a half hour.
“Wait for it,” Teddy said, “Not quite over yet.”
There was a bang louder than all the rest and I craned my neck to see what it was. As soon as it appeared, there was a lot of shouting and cheering.
The final firework featured a huge Gryffindor lion surrounded by red and gold sparks. The lion had a green snake in its mouth. The lion shook the snake around and then the snake burst apart in a flash of green sparks.
“That was brilliant, Teddy,” Victoire said.
“Courtesy of your uncle,” Teddy grinned, “I set them up a few hours ago and put timers on all of them.”
“Back inside, all of you!” Professor Patil shouted as she walked amongst the students, “It's past curfew!”
Nobody complained about going back inside. Patil made no move to try and find the culprit of the fireworks, which was good for Teddy and Landon. The whole stunt was just a nice way to celebrate the end of the year.
******
The next morning was a chaotic frenzy of last minute packing and shoveling down brekkie before getting into a thestral pulled carriage. I shared a carriage with Victoire, Teddy, and Landon.
“You know, I shared one of these with your sister in the beginning of the year,” I told Victoire, “And one of your cousins, and some other girl.”
“Wow, what a coincidence,” Victoire laughed.
“They were arguing about whether these were really pulled by thestrals or not. Apparently Teddy told them they were, but they weren't sure they believed him,” I said, “I told them that Teddy was right.”
“I'm always right,” Teddy said pompously.
“No, you're not,” Victoire sighed, “If you were, you'd have better grades.”
We found a compartment to ourselves on the train and were only interrupted a few times by various cousins of Victoire. It still amazed me just how many cousins she had.
“What do your grandparents do at Christmas?” I asked her after two more of her cousins left.
“My grandma knits us all jumpers,” Victoire said and Teddy burst out laughing.
“What's so funny?” I asked.
“The jumpers. Everyone wears them on Christmas and we all sort of match. She knits one for me, too. Everyone in the family's got a rather large collection of Weasley jumpers,” Teddy grinned.
“That must take forever, knitting all those jumpers,” I said.
“She spends the whole year on them,” Victoire said.
“Wow,” I said.
“So, Victoire,” Teddy began, “Prefects get chosen for your year this summer. I'd bet my whole Gringott's vault that it'll be you.”
I hadn't even thought about that yet. I agreed with Teddy, though. Victoire would make a good Prefect.
“I don't know, Teddy,” Victoire sighed, “I mean, Samantha would make a good Prefect....”
“You'd make a better one,” Landon said, “You'd make a better Prefect than me.”
“I won't argue with that,” Victoire laughed.
“Wait,” I said, “I just have to ask this. Landon, when I first met you, I thought you were one of those blokes who likes rules because you told me I couldn't sleep in the common room. But you obviously don't care much about rules. Why the bloody hell did you tell me I couldn't sleep in the common room?”
“It was my first week as a Prefect,” Landon shrugged, “I thought I had to do that. But if you did it now, I wouldn't do anything about it.”
“And next year it'll be Victoire who's telling people they can't sleep in the common room,” Teddy said.
“I might not be a Prefect,” Victoire groaned.
The remainder of the trip was spent talking about what we thought would happen next year. Teddy and Landon both took pleasure in the fact that Victoire and I would be doing our O.W.L.s and they wouldn't, until Victoire reminded them that their N.E.W.T. level classes would be incredibly hard.
Soon, the train pulled into London and everyone scrambled to get their stuff together. I walked through the corridor of the train with Victoire, Teddy, and Landon, and we made our way to the platform. We saw Monica on our way, and she threw us a dirty look. I just turned away and ignored her. One good thing about the year being over was that I wouldn't have to see Monica for months.
“I'll owl you soon,” I said to Victoire on the platform.
“Me, too,” Victoire agreed and gave me a hug, “I'll miss you.”
“Miss you, too,” I replied.
“See you next year, Aussie!” Teddy shouted, “Don't move again!”
“I won't,” I laughed.
“Bye, everyone!” Landon shouted before going to find his parents.
I said goodbye to Victoire and Teddy one more time and then found my dad, who was wearing his work robes.
“Amy,” Dad said as he hugged me, “I missed you. Ready to go home?”
“Yeah,” I replied, “I missed you, too.”
******
Mum, Matt, and Ellie were in the kitchen when we arrived home a little while later. There was a large platter of spaghetti and meatballs on the table and I was immediately taken back to when I got back home after fourth year. It seemed like such a long time ago, even though it had only been a year and a half.
“How did your exams go?” Mum asked once we were all sitting down.
“Good,” I replied, “I passed everything.”
“Glad to hear it,” Mum smiled, “We're so proud of you. I know this past year has been hard, but you've done so well.”
“Thanks,” I said, “I have something to tell you, too.”
“What?” Dad asked in between bites of spaghetti.
“I'm going to become a Healer,” I said quietly, “You know, once I'm done with Hogwarts.”
I had decided not to tell them about my plans on discovering a better version of the Wolfsbane Potion, at least not while Matt was in the room. I didn't want to get his hopes up.
Mum and Dad were quiet for a few moments and they shared one of those parental silent communication glances.
“When did you realize this?” Dad asked.
“Beginning of May,” I replied, “Teddy and Landon had career meetings and there were pamphlets in the common room. I saw the Healer one and it just sort of hit me. Then I talked to Madam Pomfrey and she tried to tell me that I didn't have to make up my mind now, but I have. All the career tests she gave me said I'm suited to be a Healer, and it's what I want to do.”
“I agree with the tests,” Dad smiled, “I think Healing would be an excellent field to get into.”
“I think you would make a great Healer,” Mum agreed, “What field are you interested in.”
I glanced at Matt and then replied, “Erm, creature-induced injuries. And...research.”
“Ah,” Dad smiled knowingly, “It will be a good day for those fields when you become certified.”
“I wouldn't want to be a Healer,” Matt announced, “I hate hospitals. But I think you'd be a good Healer.”
“Thanks,” I smiled.
******
It was strange how you settled back into life at home so easily after life at school. During the last few days of any given year, I would always think about how weird it would be to go back home and be around my family all the time. But when the time came to go back home, it wasn't that strange.
That year was not much different. I settled back into my usual routine of brewing potions, reading, and wandering around the bush. Every few days I would go shopping with Mum in Diagon Alley, usually depending on whether she was going to Gringotts or not. I still hated that place.
There were noticeable differences, though. For one, nobody was that stressed out. It was almost like we were living that carefree life Aussie Magik had said we once had in that article. Dad came home happy from work and rarely had to stay late. Mum wasn't tense and she didn't yell at me every ten minutes. Matt wasn't scared all the time. And I didn't spend all my time by myself.
My parents and I rarely fought anymore. That was the most noticeable difference. Two weeks after I went home, Mum and I hadn't had more than a small argument over whether my bedroom was clean enough for her liking. That was pretty amazing on our part.
Matt and I seemed to spend most of our time together. The only thing I did without him was brew potions. It didn't really bother me, either. As much as I had liked exploring the bush by myself, having Matt there made it fun as well. There was so much that he didn't know about the bush, mostly due to Mum's overprotectiveness, and it was fun to teach him about the plants.
“What's Hogwarts like?” Matt asked as we tramped through the bush a few weeks after I returned home.
“Do you mean the actual castle? Or the students? Or the classes?” I grinned back at him.
“Everything,” he shrugged, “What about Gryffindor Tower?”
“The common room is round. The dormitories are, too. Everything's scarlet and gold. It's cozy, but kind of cramped,” I explained, “But, you might not be in Gryffindor.”
“I will to!” he shouted as he ran to catch up with me.
“Yeah, you probably will,” I stopped to wait for him, “But there's always a chance you won't.”
“What else?” Matt asked, “What's the rest of the castle like?”
“It's big. So big you'll get lost a lot during your first week. But there's some really cool rooms. Like the kitchens,” I told him as we fell into step beside each other, “Victoire showed them to me. There's more house elves than I've ever seen in my life-”
“More than Jacqueline's got?” Matt asked in awe.
“Way more,” I replied, “They're happier, though. Kendrick treats them well. Anyway, you can get whatever you want to eat there. The house elves will give you anything.”
“Anything?” Matt's eyes opened wide, “An entire chocolate cake?”
“Yep,” I grinned.
“What else?” Matt pressed.
“Well, there's this room...” I paused. I had been toying with the idea of telling Matt about the Room of Requirement ever since I found it. I finally decided just to do it, since it would be useful for him to know about it. “And generations of Hogwarts students, the ones who know about the room that is, probably wouldn't want me to tell you about it since it's pretty much a secret unless you discover it yourself....”
“Can't you tell me?” he begged, putting on that face he uses to get my parents to give him whatever he wants.
“I am,” I sighed, “But only because I think you'll need it while you're at Hogwarts. And you can't tell anyone about it.”
“I won't,” he said quickly, “But what is it?”
“It's a room that will give you whatever you want,” I said.
Matt stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me. “What?”
I laughed. Even for magic, a room that could give you whatever you wanted was kind of remarkable.
“It's across from this portrait of a bloke teaching trolls to dance ballet on the seventh floor. Right down the corridor from the Gryffindor common room. Very convenient, really. You pace in front of it three times, thinking about what you need, and a door appears. When you open it, the room is exactly how you imagined it.”
“That is brilliant!” Matt grinned, “It'll really give you anything?”
“Pretty much. I mean, it won't give you food because of some Transfiguration laws that I forgot what they were called, but it's always been able to give me what I want,” I shrugged.
“What did you turn it into?” Matt asked as we began walking again.
“My room from Australia,” I replied, “And a few other random rooms.”
“It really looked like your room from Australia?” Matt looked skeptical.
“Down to the pair of dirty Australian School of Sorcery robes on the floor,” I nodded.
“I can't wait to try that out,” Matt said, “But why did you want me to know about it?”
“I think it would be a good place for you to go if you're really tired before full moons. If you don't want to go to the hospital wing, that is,” I said quietly, “You can ask the Room not to make itself available to others if you want privacy. If you sleep in your dormitory before full moons, your roommates are going to get suspicious.”
“Oh,” Matt said, and we walked silently for a few minutes. “Amy?” he asked.
“Yeah?”
“Do you think anyone is going to find out?” he said in barely more than a whisper.
I sighed and sat down on a nearby rock. Matt sat down next to me. I said nothing as I thought back to when Teddy told me about the Marauders. How they had guessed that his dad was a werewolf and then became illegal animagi.
“Do you remember how Kendrick said there was a werewolf who went to Hogwarts decades ago?” I asked. Matt nodded. “And you know my friend, Teddy?” Matt nodded agin. “Well,” I continued, “That werewolf was Teddy's dad.”
Matt's mouth fell open. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yes, and Teddy told me about him. He had three really good friends,” I left out the part about Peter Pettigrew betraying James and Lily Potter, “They found out that Teddy's dad was a werewolf, but they didn't care.” I also left out the illegal animagus part.
“So,” I said, “There's a chance that if you make friends who are so smart that they might find out. But, if you make friends like Teddy's dad's friends, they're not going to tell anyone and they're not going to abandon you.”
“But,” Matt said quietly, “But I don't want anyone to find out.”
“That's where the Room of Requirement is going to come in,” I told him, “And I'll still be at Hogwarts during your first year. We'll make it work.”
Matt nodded, but didn't say anything. I could see that the idea of people possibly finding out about his lycanthropy scared the hell out of him and half of me regretted telling him about Teddy's dad. I thought it would have just reassured him, but it obviously hadn't.
Telling him that nobody would find out would have been giving him false hope, though. My parents thought it was going to work, but they didn't know much about life in Gryffindor Tower. Everyone had at least three roommates, more often four or five. Matt was going to have at least 60 full moons at school during his Hogwarts career. That was 60 full moons where he got sick, which would be witnessed by the same four people every month. They were bound to get suspicious and do some research eventually. I would if I were in their position. Unless they were complete dunderheads, but what were the chances that all four would be idiots?
Mum and Dad could believe what they wanted, but I had a feeling someone was going to find out eventually. I had no plans of telling my parents about my suspicions, though. It might scare them enough to homeschool Matt and not let him go to Hogwarts at all, which would be horrible. If there was anything my brother needed, it was to go to Hogwarts. He needed to be around people his age and not have Mum hovering over him every minute of the day.
It wasn't like it didn't scare me, though. The idea of people finding out about Matt's lycanthropy did worry me. After all, when people had found out in Australia, we had to leave the country. If anyone like Monica found out, it could have really bad repercussions.
I glanced at my watch. “We should get back,” I said, “Mum'll start worrying soon.”
Matt nodded and we got up. The walk back through the bush was quiet. So quiet that we could hear our feet crunching sticks, the birds flying over head, and the cows mooing once we emerged from the bush. Half of them were lying down, which Uncle Jack said meant it was going to rain. There weren't many clouds in the sky, though.
“Look, I didn't mean to scare you with the story about Teddy's dad,” I said as we walked through out backyard.
“I know,” Matt said, “I just don't want anyone to find out, whether they're friends or not.”
“I never said they would. I just said there was a chance,” I said, “Plus, Teddy's dad didn't have an older sister to protect him. If anyone starts anything with you, whether they know about the lycanthropy or not, I'll knock them out. Muggle style of course, since I'm rubbish at dueling.”
“I don't think Mum and Dad would be happy with that, since you'd get detention,” Matt said, but smiled anyway.
“There are some things that are worth detention,” I said as I put my arm around him.
Chapter 63: Understanding
Three nights before the July full moon I decided that I was not going to put up with being kicked out of the house for it. Having to leave my house once a month for the full moon was something that had been driving me mad for years, but I had been going along with whatever Mum and Dad said because they had so much else to worry about.
Now we had moved and we no longer had to worry about Ralph Lubar and his ridiculous laws. Mum and Dad were happy and as stress-free as two parents with a werewolf child could be. It seemed like the perfect time to suggest that I no longer leave the house for full moons.
I spent an entire afternoon coming up with a list of reasons as to why I should stay home. I knew the answer would be no unless I had good reasons.
Reason number one. I was nearly sixteen. A year after that I would be seventeen and no longer underage. So, I would be of age in one year and three months. That was practically an adult. In some cultures, I would be considered an adult.
Reason number two. I was going to become a Healer. Healers had to deal with this sort of thing all the time. I needed to get used to it.
Reason number three. What else were they going to do? Flying me to Australia to stay with Richard and Cinda every month was going to get expensive, not to mention really inconvenient since they didn't like me flying alone. Getting portkeys through the Ministry was completely out of the question since my parents wanted nothing to do with the Australian Ministry anymore. Getting a room at the Hog's Head wasn't going to happen either, judging by how Mum reacted the last time.
Reason number four was the most convincing, in my opinion. In two years, Matt would be at Hogwarts, without Mum or Dad there with him. I would be there. It would be me going with him the Shrieking Shack before every full moon (well, with Madam Pomfrey as well). Me who would be there when he woke up the next day. Me, the only person at Hogwarts he would know. I had to be completely used to seeing him right before and right after transformations by then if I was going to be able to comfort him. It wouldn't do him any good if I was bawling my eyes out every full moon. I had looked at a calendar and saw that there were about seven or eight full moons that I would be home for before Matt's first year. If I started now, I would be used to them before that.
The night before the full moon, Mum and Dad still hadn't said anything about what I was doing. I waited until Matt had gone to bed (which wasn't a long wait; he went to bed at seven) and grabbed my list and went down to the living room to talk to them.
“Mum, Dad,” I stood in front of the couch they were sitting on. They had been whispering about something, but I didn't care that I interrupted them.
“Amy,” Dad said, “We have something we need to talk to you about.”
“Let me go first,” I said, “I need to talk to you about something.”
Mum and Dad exchanged glances. “All right,” Dad replied.
“I would like to propose that I get to stay home tomorrow night,” I began, “And before you say no, I have a list of reasons why.”
Mum and Dad looked kind of amused, but Dad gestured for me to go on.
“Reason number one,” I continued, “I am nearly of age. I will be of age in one year and three months. I'm practically an adult.”
“Practically being the key word,” Dad sighed.
“Reason number two,” I ignored him, “It will save you a lot of money and time. I can't be flying to Australia every full moon I not at school.”
“We can't put a price on your safety,” Mum pointed out.
“Reason number three,” I said, even though Mum had had a good point, “I am going to become a Healer. I will have to deal with this sort of thing. I need to get used to it.”
“Plenty of witches and wizards become perfectly talented Healers without having lycanthropic brothers,” Dad said.
Another good point, I thought. Now to drop the big one. “Reason number four. In just two years' time, Matt will be at Hogwarts. You will not be, but I will. It'll be me who watches over him around full moons, gets him to the hospital wing in time, and possibly takes him to the Shrieking Shack-”
“Madam Pomfrey-” Dad interrupted.
“He doesn't know Madam Pomfrey well,” I cut him off, “He's going to want me there. You know he will. He'll want me there when he wakes up the next morning. And what good will I do if I'm completely shocked by how injured he is? How will it help him if I'm sitting in the hospital wing bawling my eyes out next to his bed?”
I folded the parchment and put it in my pocket. There was nothing else I could do. I had made my point.
Mum and Dad looked at each other. Mum looked shocked and Dad had that tired look about him that was only brought about by full moons.
“She has a point,” Dad said quietly, “I'm not really sure how we missed this.”
“I don't know either,” Mum sighed, “You know she's going to be there when he wakes up at Hogwarts. She'll be at the Shrieking Shack before Madam Pomfrey, you know she will be.”
“I know,” Dad sighed.
I stood there not knowing what to do. They were talking about me like I wasn't there. Usually this sort of thing drove me mad, but I was happy they hadn't gone to talk about it in private. It was a good sign.
“I guess,” Dad began, “That it's just a matter of whether we want her to be here for the full moon for the first time while we're here with her, or whether we want her to do it alone at Hogwarts.”
“It isn't the same, though,” Mum said, “Matt will be in the Shrieking Shack while he's transformed and Amy will be in the castle. Here, they'd be in the same house.”
“I know,” Dad said quietly, “We knew this day was going to come.”
“We did,” Mum agreed.
“I guess, I think we should,” Dad said.
I silently begged Mum to agree. I was over the first hurdle, the shorter one. I knew Dad would give in first.
“All right,” Mum sighed, “If you think it's ok, I agree. But just this one. We're not making promises about future full moons.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly, happy that they agreed, but I was suddenly nervous at the same time.
“But,” Dad said, “I have some conditions that you have to agree to. Number one, you must do anything I tell you. If I say to run out of the house, you run out of the house. No questions. I don't care if it's two in the morning and you're half asleep, if I wake you up and tell you to leave, you leave. You find Ellie and tell her to Apparate you someplace. No waiting for Mum and I. Anything I say, you do. If I tell you to jump up and down while reciting the ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion, you do it. Number two, you stay out of the basement while the moon is full. No potion brewing. Number three, you have your wand on you at all times,” Dad took a deep breath, “And if, something were to happen,” he paused again and lowered his voice, “You use whatever spell comes to mind. Forget the underage magic laws.”
That last one jarred me a little, but I nodded. “Ok, I agree.”
“Good,” Dad softened his voice, “Now I am not really sure you realize how hard this will be. I'm warning you that we don't soundproof the actual safe room. We soundproof the house. I have to listen so we know when he's transformed back and it's safe to go in the room. You'll be hearing him all night. I can put a muffling charm on your room if you'd like.”
“No,” I shook my head, “I don't need one.”
“And,” Dad paused again, “The next morning, it's up to you if you want to see him right after. You don't have to.”
“I have to,” I disagreed, “I just do.”
“All right,” Dad sighed, “I just hope you understand what you're getting into. There are reasons besides physical safety that we don't normally let you stay for full moons.”
******
The closest I had ever come to seeing Matt right after a full moon was seeing him in the hospital after he transformed in that Ministry center, and that wasn't a normal full moon. Never had I seen him directly after a full moon, though.
However, I was nervous. I tried to hide it from Mum and Dad, but I think they could tell. It was strange. All the times I had begged Mum and Dad to let me stay and they had declined, I didn't think I would be nervous about staying. It was only now that it was actually happening that I was nervous.
I wasn't regretting my decision, though. I was determined to do this.
It wasn't that I didn't know what would happen. I knew full well what was going to happen. I had read numerous books on werewolves and their transformations. For the past three and a half years, I had been trying to pretend that maybe Matt's full moons were different. That was stupid, really, since his full moons were obviously bad. But since I hadn't seen one with my own two eyes, I could still try and pretend. I was nervous because I knew there would be no denying it after the following morning.
Mum and Dad told Matt late the morning of the full moon that I would be staying home. He either didn't really comprehend what they were saying (he was pretty tired at the time) or didn't care.
My parents seemed more stressed about this full moon than they had for one in months, and I knew the reason was me. I even felt sort of guilty about it, but quickly shrugged that off. This was something I had to do.
I didn't go out to the bush that day. In fact, I stayed inside the entire day. Somehow it didn't seem right for me to go explore while Matt was laid up on the couch. It was weird how things changed. A year and a half ago, I would have been out in the bush the entire day. Instead, I stayed in the living room, where Matt was, and read while he slept.
Dad went into work for a few hours, but returned hours before the moon was going to rise. Mum stayed in the living room with us, getting up every so often to bring Matt potions or water.
“Do either of you want anything to eat?” Dad asked shortly after he came home. It was dinner time, but I wasn't hungry in the slightest.
“No, thanks,” Mum said and I shook my head.
The remaining hours until the moon rose ticked by. The house was so quiet that I could actually hear every tick of the clock. I set my book down, no longer able to read.
“It's time,” Dad said quietly a few minutes later.
I looked outside and saw that the sky was dark. Night had fallen. The moon would soon rise.
Dad rose from his chair and walked over to where Matt was curled up next to Mum. Mum gently shook Matt awake and he immediately started crying.
“Shush,” Mum soothed, “It's time to go down to the basement.”
“I don't want to,” Matt mumbled in between sobs.
“I know,” Dad said as he picked Matt up.
Mum and Dad started walking towards the basement door. Matt was in Dad's arms, his head on Dad's shoulder. He was awake and I could see the tears rolling down his face. It nearly made me want to cry.
Neither of them said whether I was allowed to go down to the basement with them, so I got up and followed. I half expected them to tell me I had to stay upstairs, but they didn't say a word.
Dad opened the door to the safe room with a wave of his wand. I hadn't seen the place since Dad first put it in. It was slightly smaller than the one in Australia, but other than that it looked the same. Padded walls on every side and no windows.
Dad set Matt down on the floor, but he kept his arms wrapped around Dad's neck.
“We'll see you in the morning,” Dad said as he unwrapped Matt's arms from his neck, “I promise. I love you.”
“We'll be here as soon as the moon sets,” Mum said as she bent down to give Matt a hug, “I love you so much.”
I had been lingering in the doorway, but as soon as Mum let go of Matt, I walked over to him. I bent down and gave him a hug. He was trembling harder than I had ever seen him tremble before. He was really warm, too, like he had a fever.
“I love you,” I whispered and then stood up. I followed Mum out of the room and then waited for Dad.
Dad walked slowly out of the room and shut the door behind him. He pulled out his wand and performed a variety of intricate spells on the door. After he was done, we followed him up the stairs.
“Do you have your wand, Amy?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” I nodded.
I followed my parents to the kitchen. They sat down at the table and didn't say a word. I did the same.
“Ten minutes,” Dad said.
I counted every second in that ten minutes. 600 seconds went by. Then I glanced out the window and saw the moon peeking out over the horizon.
Then I heard it. A horrible, awful, high-pitched shriek coming from the basement. My heart skipped a beat. It felt like somebody had punched me in the gut. Then came another, and another, until there were no pauses in between the shrieks.
I looked up at my parents. Mum looked like she was ready to cry and Dad's face was hard.
Then the shrieking stopped and there was silence. I breathed slowly to try and stop my racing heart, but then there was a loud howl. And another. And another. Mum and Dad hadn't moved an inch. I sat completely still as well, at a complete loss for words. I understood why Mum and Dad were being so quiet. There was nothing to day.
******
I stared out the window at the moon. The round orb of light that had been one of the only constant things in my life, all our lives, this past year and a half.
I had been fascinated with the moon and stars for as long as I could remember. The night sky was one of my favorite things and I could stargaze for hours. The moon was so beautiful, in every phase, and the twinkling stars just accented that beauty.
Now, as I stood in my kitchen, listening to the howls of my little brother, I did not see that beauty. For the first time in my life, I stared at the moon and hated it. I hated it for everything it did to Matt, everything it had done to my family.
******
There are so many different ways that time passes. The way it seems to fly by when you're doing something fun, the way it seems to go backwards when you're sitting in History of Magic, the way it seems to go by fast when you're dreading something and when that thing comes, it slows down.
As I sat in the kitchen during the full moon, I realized that none of those ways fit this situation. I was certainly not doing anything fun and I wasn't bored either. I wasn't dreading anything; the thing I had been dreading already arrived, Matt's transformation.
The actual transformation had been relatively quick. Five, ten minutes tops. It felt like longer, but the clock told me otherwise. I'm sure to Matt it felt like hours.
Now, time was creeping by. This was possibly due to the fact that I could still hear every second ticking by on the clock. Every second brought us closer to morning, but time seemed to have stopped anyway.
It soon became clear to me that Mum and Dad did not even try to go to bed during full moons. Neither of them made any move to go upstairs. They only left the kitchen to use the toilet.
I decided that I wasn't going to bed either. Originally, I had thought I would go up to my room when my parents went up to theirs, but they weren't going to.
“Amy, do you think that you'd like to get some sleep?” Dad asked, breaking the silence for the first time, around two in the morning.
“No,” I said. I wasn't even tired anymore. I had been tired around midnight, but it had gone away. There was no way I would be able to sleep.
Dad didn't bring it up again. The room descended into silence once again, only broken by the occasional howl coming from the basement.
Mum fell asleep slumped over the table around four in the morning. Dad followed suit shortly thereafter. I was still wide awake.
******
I watched the moon set through the den window. I had had to switch rooms to watch it. As the moon set, the howling slowed and then stopped. The house was completely silent.
I walked back into the kitchen. Mum and Dad were still sound asleep. I had no idea what time they normally went to go get Matt, but I thought they went as soon as the moon set.
“Mum,” I whispered, “Dad.”
Mum woke up first. She looked up sleepily and then jumped out of her chair when she saw that the sun was up. Dad quickly followed. Neither of them said a word as they ran out of the kitchen and down to the basement.
My heart started beating faster as I followed them. I really had no idea what Matt was going to look like. I made myself keep walking, though. There was no way I was going to stay upstairs.
Mum and Dad paused in front of the transformation room and listened for a few minutes. It was absolutely silent. Eerily silent.
Dad waved his wand in front of the door and then slowly pushed it open. I took a deep breath and then squeezed under Dad's arm to get into the room first. Mum and Dad didn't stop me.
I stopped two feet into the room. I just couldn't go any further. What I had felt when I first heard Matt screaming the previous night was nothing to what I was feeling now. I didn't think I'd ever breath normally again.
There was one thing that I could compare to what Matt looked like now, and that was what he looked like when he was attacked. If I didn't know any better, I would say he had gotten attacked by another werewolf the previous night.
My brother was sprawled out on the floor looking as limp as a rag doll. His hair was all matted together with blood. But that was nothing compared to everything else. There was so much blood throughout the room that I was amazed he had any blood left in him. His whole body was covered in deep cuts and I was pretty sure his left arm was broken.
I was vaguely aware of my parents rushing past me. Both of them bent down next to Matt and started waving their wands around him. Then Dad picked him up and they walked out of the room. I followed.
Matt was completely unconscious. He looked like he did when he was in the coma. What if he was in another one?
Dad laid Matt down on his bed and Mum left the room. She returned a little while later with a bunch of potions. I stood in the doorway while my parents continued performing all the healing spells and gave him potions.
Matt looked a little better once they finished. All the severe cuts were bandaged, as was his arm. But he was still asleep. Or unconscious.
Mum was sitting next to his bed ruffling his hair while looking at him sadly. Dad pocketed his wand and then turned to me.
“Amy,” he said quietly.
I walked over him and he wrapped me in a tight hug. I burst into tears and let Dad comfort me like I was five years old again.
It was just so unfair that Matt had to go through this once a month. I had truly not understood everything until then. I had had to see it for myself.
We had moved in order to give Matt a better life. That was something I had come to terms with months ago, and even came to enjoy. But what I hadn't completely understood was that everything hadn't been solved by moving.
Sure, Matt was going to be able to go to school and hopefully make friends. But he would never live an entirely normal life. His life was still going to revolve around the moon. No matter where we moved, he would still have to transform once a month. Once a month he was still going to get really ill. Unless someone fixed that Wolfsbane potion.
“D-Dad,” I pulled away, “Mum.”
Mum turned away from Matt and looked at me. Neither of them said anything, like they were waiting for me to continue.
“I-I'm going to come up with a new version of Wolfsbane,” I said, “You know, if Sterling doesn't. It's the real reason why I want to be a Healer.”
“Oh, Amy,” Mum got up from her chair and gave me a hug. She let go of me and I could see tears in her eyes. “If there is anyone who could do that, it's you.”
“I'll do it,” I assured her, “He doesn't deserve this.”
“I'm sure you can,” Dad said.
“I can. As soon as I'm done with Healer training, I'm going to start,” I told them.
I sat down in between my parents on the floor in Matt's room. None of us said anything else, but we didn't need to. They hadn't said anything about whether I was going to be allowed to stay home for future full moons, but I had a feeling I would. Something had changed between us. It wasn't anything sudden, either.
It was more like something that had happened over the past year, since we had moved. I just got the feeling that my parents saw me as more of an adult now than a child, and staying home during the full moon had seemed to reinforce that idea.
I didn't even have to ask them about it. I just knew. I knew that I would no longer be going to Richard and Cinda's on full moons. I knew that my parents were going to tell me everything about the full moons that happened while I was at school. I knew there were going to be less hushed conversations taking place between them behind closed doors.
The bed gave a slight creak and I looked up. Matt was slowly opening his eyes. He couldn't sit up very easily, but he slightly lifted his head up and looked at us.
“Amy?” he croaked.
I smiled at him despite my teary eyes and got up and sat down on the side of his bed. He wrapped his bandaged arms around me and I gently hugged him back. He didn't say anything else, but leaned his head up against my chest. It felt like foreshadowing of his first year of Hogwarts that was only two years away.
I looked up and saw Mum and Dad. Dad had his arm around Mum and was smiling. Mum was smiling as well and there were silent tears running down her face. They were tears of joy, though. That I could tell.
It was one of those happy family moments that often seemed so distant in my family. I only hoped that within a few decades' time, we could have this type of moment without Matt being sick and injured from a full moon. (259,871)