Albus Potter and the Pureblood's Secret

6. Gemma Brickston

The rest of the summer went incredibly fast. Kaden arrived the day after Balladanis’s evening visit and spent two weeks with the Potters. Matt spent another five days with Albus, and during that time he had two more unsuccessful Occlumency lessons. He didn’t tell Albus and Rose exactly what happened during them, but neither of them lasted more than twenty minutes, so Albus didn’t imagine they went well. His nightmares also seemed to be getting worse, which was another thing he didn’t want to talk about.

After Matt and Kaden went home, Albus returned to his daily Quidditch practice with James. John, having returned from his family holiday, joined them. Hugo had been banned from playing Quidditch for the rest of the summer by his mother, and none of them were brave enough to disobey her. James had been given specific instructions by Aunt Hermione that if Hugo was to show up to try-outs in September, James wasn’t to allow him to try-out, and was to owl Aunt Hermione about it immediately afterward. Albus felt sure if this happened Hugo would receive a howler at breakfast the following morning.

Albus’s father’s resignation date happened to fall the day before the semi-annual Weasley Family Dinner, something he most likely would’ve wanted to avoid had he known Nana Molly would schedule it for that day. A full page article appeared in the Prophet, complete with a new head shot and the title, ‘Potter Resigns Amid Arguments With Tethys Balladanis.’ The article itself described their argument, which took place in the Atrium of the Ministry, at length and included quotes from bystanders. The argument itself had been over Stuart Boone, and whether or not to try him for one or both murders. Albus supposed that’s what both his father and Balladanis wanted, but it seemed like bad press to him.

Every single one of Albus’s aunts and uncles wanted specific details on why Dad had quit the department, and Dad did not want to talk about it. Only Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione knew the whole story, and neither of them said a word, either. By the time pudding was over, Albus was ready to go back home, and his parents must’ve felt the same way since they didn’t stay as late as they normally did. All in all it wasn’t Albus’s favorite of family dinners.

The week before term started, Albus’s parents decided they needed a holiday. They hadn’t taken a family holiday in years due to Dad’s work schedule, but now that was no longer a problem. Mum took the week off as well, and they decided to go to France for a week by the sea. Albus thoroughly enjoyed the chance to be able to relax and goof off with James and Lily. After the summer they’d had, they needed the break.

But like all enjoyable things, the week at the sea went too fast and soon the Potters were back at Grimmauld Place, getting ready to leave for King’s Cross. And, like usual, it was chaotic.

“If we’ve any hope of making the train, we have to leave in two minutes!” Mum shouted up the stairs.

“Mum!” James shouted. “Have you seen my Transfiguration book?”

“Probably wherever you left it after coming home!” Mum shouted back. “I haven’t seen you doing any homework this summer!”

“Never mind! It was in my trunk!”

“James, Albus, Lily! Get down here now!” Mum called.

Albus hurriedly stuffed his remaining robes into his trunk and slammed it shut. Cursing the fact that he was 10 months shy of 17, he dragged the trunk out into the hall, holding his owl cage in his other hand. He met James on the landing, who was levitating his own trunk, grinning madly.

“Want to help me out?” Albus asked, already knowing the answer.

“I did my time,” James said. “You’ve got to do yours. Manual labor really makes a man out of you.”

Albus groaned and followed James, sorely tempted to just push his trunk down the stairs and let it collide with his brother.

“Where’s Lily?” Mum asked once they reached the entryway.

Albus and James both shrugged. It wasn’t normal for their sister to be the last one downstairs on September first.

Mum sighed. “Lily Luna Potter! If you don’t get down here now, we’re all going to miss the train!”

A door creaked open and soon a steady clunk, clunk began as Lily dragged her trunk down the stairs. Soon she appeared, taking the last few steps very slowly. Albus was surprised to see her hair was a mess and her face was streaked with tears.

“Lily, what on earth happened?” Mum asked.

“I had to break up with him,” Lily answered.

“Break up with who?” Dad asked. “Did you know she had a boyfriend?”

“No,” Mum said. “Lily, dear, explain.”

“He was stupid so I had to break up with him,” Lily said flatly. “And I don’t know why I’m crying. Can we just leave?”

Albus stifled his laughter. He supposed now he wouldn’t have the mystery of who Lily’s boyfriend was to solve. Now it would be the mystery of who Lily’s ex-boyfriend was.

“Can we just go?” James asked. “All the good compartments will be taken.”

“Yes,” Dad said. “Come on, boys. Mum and Lily will follow. James, do you know where you’re Apparating?”

“Of course I do. We go every year,” James said.

“Just checking,” Dad said as he took hold of Albus’s trunk. “Come on, Al.”

Albus stepped closer to his father and closed his eyes as they Disapparated. They reappeared moments later in a dark alley near King’s Cross. James was already there. He took off for the station and Albus and Dad followed.

King’s Cross was just as crowded as it always was, so crowded in fact that hardly anyone gave them a second glance, despite the two owls they had. James didn’t even turn back when they reached Platform 9 3/4. Albus stole a glance at a nearby clock just before running into the solid brick wall between platforms nine and ten and saw they had three minutes before the train left. Lily better hurry up.

“Tell Mum I said goodbye,” Albus said once they’d stepped aside after making it onto the platform.

“Yeah, me too,” James said. “And I guess we’ll see you tonight?”

“Yes,” Dad nodded. “Hurry up now.”

The train whistle blew and Albus ran with his trunk. He and James heaved both trunks onto the train and hopped on just as it was pulling away.

“Lily missed the train, didn’t she?” Albus said, panting.

“Yeah, she did,” James said. “Dad will probably just bring her with him. I’ll see you later, Al.”

Albus set off for the prefects’ compartment, annoyed that he hadn’t had time to stow his trunk in his own compartment beforehand. Rose probably thought all three of them missed the train and not just Lily. By the time he reached the prefects’ compartment, most everyone else had found compartments and were settling in for the long ride.

Albus wrenched the door open and the whole compartment turned to stare at him. The new head boy was talking and Albus had evidently cut him off mid-sentence.

“Sorry,” Albus said as he heaved his trunk into the compartment. “Nearly missed the train.” He sat down next to Rose and tried not to meet anyone’s gaze.

“As I was saying,” the head boy continued. If Albus was remembering right, his name was Asher Carmichael, from Hufflepuff. “Meg Johnson is head girl.” He gestured to Meg, who was standing next to him. “If you have a problem with the schedules, contact either of us. You’ll notice the tutoring program is continuing this year.”

Rose handed Albus his schedule and he saw he had two patrols that week and tutoring on Thursday evenings. Hopefully James wouldn’t schedule Quidditch practice at the same time. Albus supposed he’d have more people show up to his sessions since they were no longer early Saturday mornings.

As Asher Carmichael continued droning on about prefect duties and responsibilities (none of which had changed since last year), Albus let his gaze wander around the compartment. The fifth year prefects were all paying rapt attention and one of the new Ravenclaw prefects was even taking notes. Albus vaguely recognized all of them, but only knew the names of the new Gryffindor prefects. Kristin Kaperman and Emerson Ackley. Kaden once told Albus that Emerson kept his books lined up in his trunk according to size.

Albus was relieved when Asher finally released them after announcing the common room passwords. Between practically running to make the train and then having to drag his trunk all the way to the prefects’ compartment, he hadn’t had time to catch his breath and wanted nothing more than to lounge in his own compartment and maybe play a few rounds of Exploding Snap.

“We don’t have to patrol for another hour and a half,” Rose said as she helped Albus by grabbing his owl cage.

“Good,” Albus said. “Do you know where everyone else is?”

“Of course,” Rose said, leading him out of the compartment. “I was here half an hour early. Why were you so late?”

“Lily just broke up with her boyfriend, who is apparently, an idiot. I’ve no idea who he is, though.”

“She’ll find someone else,” Rose said.

“She missed the train. James said she’ll come with Dad later.”

Albus followed Rose through three cars until they reached the compartment. Rose yanked the door open and held it for Albus, who heaved his trunk inside and deposited it on the floor. Albus glanced around the compartment, looking for a place to sit, but all the seats were taken. Along one side sat Matt and Amanda, with a fat tabby cat lounging between them, and on the other side were John, Kaden, Bethany, and John’s little sister, Gemma. Albus sighed. He’d wanted to talk to his friends in private about what he and Matt had overheard at Grimmauld Place since they hadn’t all been together since, but he couldn’t with Bethany and Gemma there.

Albus picked up the sleeping cat and put it on the floor, where it hissed and glared at him before curling up at Gemma’s feet. “Who’s cat?” he asked as he sat next to Matt.

“Mine,” Gemma said. “His name is Tortie.”

“And he’s evil,” John muttered. “Albus and Rose are here now, so you’ve got to leave. There isn’t room.”

“You, too, Bethany,” Kaden added.

Bethany looked positively terrified at the thought of leaving the compartment, and Albus couldn’t really blame her. Sure, Kaden was a wizard, but she was still a Muggleborn, and this was still brand new to her.

“Kaden,” Rose scolded. “Let her stay. You can stay, Bethany.”

“How come she gets to stay?” Gemma demanded. “Mum told you you had to let me sit with you.”

“She told the same thing to Ashtyn. Go find her.”

“Ashtyn said her compartment is full,” Gemma muttered. “And can I have my wand back?”

Albus and Matt snickered. Albus had told him about Gemma’s incident with the kitchen table earlier in the summer.

Gemma glared at both of them and then turned to John. “Come on, John.”

“Mum said I could give it back to you after your Sorting,” John said. “I can’t pick and choose what rules of hers I want to follow. If you want to stay, I’m keeping your wand. But if you leave, I’ll give it back.”

Gemma’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Are you sure that’s wise, John?” Rose asked.

John burst out laughing. “Of course not really. I’m not stupid, Gem.”

Gemma smacked John in the arm. “You’re really mean, you know that? I hope I’m in Hufflepuff.”

“I hope that, too, but I’m not expecting it,” John muttered.

“Anything off the trolley?”

Albus jumped up, eager to escape John and Gemma’s bickering, and hurried into the corridor, where the trolley witch stood waiting. Everyone else followed. Albus bought a sack of Every-Flavor Beans, a few Chocolate Frogs, a Cauldron Cake, and a bottle of pumpkin juice, and then stood off to the side while his friends took their turns.

Bethany’s nerves seemed to settle when she saw the huge variety of wizard candy on the trolley. Kaden bought her twice as much as Albus bought, and then even more for himself. John ignored Gemma, but she bought her own stash and hurried back into the compartment after him, clearly bent on annoying him for the rest of the ride.

Matt was the last to buy his snacks and after he’d finished, the trolley lady continued down the corridor. He turned to go back into the compartment, but Albus caught him.

“Wait,” Albus said, lowering his voice and glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention. “Are you going to the feast this year?”

Matt nodded. “The full moon was last week, so I should be fine.”

“Common room password is ‘lemongrass,’ just in case you need it,” Albus whispered. “Are you still on that potion Burke made?”

“Thanks. I’ll probably sneak up there before everyone else,” Matt said, looking slightly relieved. “And yeah. It’s still working, mostly. The only really bad parts of the summer were when I was in Australia and before the August full moon. I think I kept doing the Occlumency lessons with your aunt longer than I should’ve. I’m not doing them the whole week before the full moon from now on.”

“Good,” Albus said. He gestured to the compartment. “Shall we?”

Matt reached for the door. “John makes me happy I don’t have little sisters.”

“John makes me happy I only have one,” Albus said as Matt opened the door.

Albus paused in the doorway and watched as Gemma pelted John with Every-Flavor Beans while Rose and Amanda watched, their eyebrows raised, and Kaden laughed. Bethany was smiling slightly, as if she wanted to laugh, but wasn’t sure.

“Where have you two been?” Rose asked.

“Nowhere,” Albus answered.

“And now I wish I’d stayed there,” Matt muttered.

“Gemma, enough!” John shouted. “Albus and Rose could give you detention, you know.”

Gemma laughed. “Before term starts?”

Rose nodded. “He’s right, actually. I could recommend a detention, and that’s not really the way you want to start off your first year, is it?”

Gemma sighed and set down her sack of beans. “Fine.”

Albus and Matt managed to squeeze onto the bench Rose and Amanda were sharing, but it certainly wasn’t the relaxing trip Albus had been expecting. Six people in a compartment was enough, and eight? Very irritating. But he couldn’t very well kick Bethany out since she was so anxious about going to Hogwarts.

“Is it true you guys almost die every year?” Bethany asked quietly.

“Is that what Kaden’s been telling you?” Rose demanded.

Bethany nodded and took a tentative bite of a Chocolate Frog.

Rose groaned. “Your brother goes looking for trouble. So does my cousin. So does Matt, and so does John. You’ll be fine. I promise.”

“I never went looking for trouble my first year!” Kaden argued.

“Fine. Except that year,” Rose said. “But Bethany, you’ll be fine. If Kaden almost died every year your parents wouldn’t let him come back, especially given your dad’s history with magic.”

“Okay,” Bethany said.

“Honestly, Kaden,” Rose muttered.

“What? I never-“

The door flew open, revealing Samantha and Lindy, both already dressed in their Hogwarts robes, and both looking sheepish.

“Seriously?” Albus exclaimed. “Go away. We can’t fit anyone else in here.”

“Cedric kicked us out,” Samantha said.

“There’s a surprise,” Albus replied. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” the twins said together.

Rose laughed. “Everyone? Meet Samantha and Lindy Weasley, mine and Al’s cousins. Believe it or not, they get into more trouble than John and Kaden.

That seemed to spark Gemma’s interest. She turned away from John and looked Samantha and Lindy up and down, and then smiled. “Twins. Nice. Are you first years?”

“Yeah,” Samantha said.

“Out with it,” Rose said. “What did you do?”

Samantha sighed. “We decided to show Cedric some of the magic we’ve learned and we may or may not have accidentally set fire to one of the benches in the compartment.”

Rose gasped. “Did he extinguish it?”

“In about two seconds,” Lindy answered. “So it wasn’t a big deal.”

“Match made in heaven,” John said, yanking Gemma up by her arm and shoving her forward. “Samantha and Lindy, meet my sister, Gemma. She set fire to our kitchen table in July. Go find another compartment and torment someone else.”

The possibility of friends just like her seemed to be too good an opportunity to pass up and Gemma left without a glance back.

“Can I go, too, Kaden?” Bethany asked.

“You want to?” Kaden asked. “Go for it. You blew up a TV. You’ll fit right in.”

Bethany grinned and hurried out of the compartment, all worries about Hogwarts apparently gone.

“That was too easy,” John said after Bethany shut the door behind her. “If Samantha and Lindy keep Gemma occupied for the next two years, I’ll be forever in your debt, Al and Rose.”

“So how did all of you do on your O.W.L.s?” Amanda asked as she opened a Chocolate Frog. “I’ve only seen Rose all summer.”

Amanda had gone over to Rose’s house the week Albus and his family went to France, so he hadn’t gotten to see her.

“I’ve only seen Al’s,” Kaden said, tossing a few Bertie Bott’s beans for John to catch.

“If you show us yours,” John said.

Everyone except Kaden dug around in their bags for their O.W.L. results, all having brought them for this specific reason. Albus handed his results to Amanda and she handed hers to him.

Ordinary Wizarding Level Results - Amanda G. Tagger

Astronomy - E
Care of Magical Creatures - E
Charms - O
Defense Against the Dark Arts - E
Divination - A
Herbology - E
History of Magic - E
Potions - E
Transfiguration - E

“You passed Divination?” Albus asked as he handed the results across the compartment to John and Kaden.

Amanda grinned. “Barely. I won’t be continuing it.”

“I’m more shocked someone besides Rose passed History of Magic,” Matt said, smirking.

“I had to pass it since I want to continue it, if they offer it,” Amanda pointed out. “I’m also doing Charms, Defense, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration.”

“How many people have to take a class in order for it not to be canceled?” Matt asked. “None of you are taking Astronomy.”

“Five, I think?” Albus said.

Rose nodded. “I asked Professor Longbottom last year. Usually it’s five, but sometimes the professor will make an exception. I think Janie said she wanted to continue Astronomy, so that’s two. You’ll just need three others from the other houses.”

Matt groaned. “That’s right. We’re with all the houses for classes now. That means Malfoy will be in most of our classes.”

“Depends on how he did on his O.W.L.s,” Albus pointed out.

“Al,” Rose said as she stood up. “We’ve got to go patrol.”

“Right,” Albus said. “Be back in an hour or so.”

The patrol was uneventful. Neither Albus or Rose came across Samantha, Lindy, Gemma, and Bethany, something that Rose found slightly unsettling. Albus assured her they must’ve just missed their compartment, and that it didn’t mean the four first years were off causing mayhem in the train. If that had been the case, the patrol wouldn’t have been uneventful. As it was, they only came across a few first and second years who needed to be reminded not to duel in the corridor, and while he scolded them, Albus realized how much more confident he was as a prefect this year. Just a year ago, he would’ve let Rose handle it alone.

They did run into James, who attempted to hold Albus hostage in his compartment in order to strategize about Quidditch, and Albus used the convenient excuse of having to finish his patrol in order to leave. James, it seemed, would be following in Georgia’s footsteps as a fanatical captain. As they continued down the corridor, Albus and Rose ran into various other cousins and Albus realized most of the Weasley cousins at Hogwarts were now younger than him. He was a sixth year now, and that just seemed weird.

By the time they returned to their compartment, the sky had darkened and it had begun to rain. However it was nowhere near nightfall and they still had half the journey left. The compartment was quiet. Amanda was involved in a novel and didn’t even look up when Albus and Rose entered. John and Kaden were trading Chocolate Frog cards and finishing off the last of the snacks. Matt was fast asleep, his head resting on the window.

Rose pulled out a book of her own and Albus sat down across from Matt and stared out the window, watching the raindrops trickle down it. He didn’t feel like reading, but he wasn’t particularly tired, either. He let his thoughts wander to the changes that would be happening at Hogwarts Balladanis and Aunt Hermione mentioned, but no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t come up with any ideas as to what they were.

7. The Burned Boat

It was raining in Hogsmeade when the train arrived, ensuring the students hurried to the thestral-drawn carriages as quickly as possible. Albus secured one of the closer carriages, as it was one of the many benefits of being a sixth year to have the second years afraid of you. Albus didn’t even have to say anything before two terrified looking second years scurried out of his way.

“Real nice, Al,” Rose said as she watched the second years splash through the mud to another carriage.

“I didn’t say anything,” Albus said as he climbed inside. “I swear.”

“We can’t help it if they’re afraid of us,” John said, climbing in after Albus.

The carriage was blissfully dry and Albus let his mind wander during the bumpy trip to the castle. He realized this was now his second to last September return to Hogwarts and it struck him as odd. It didn’t feel like any time had passed since his journey across the lake in first year, let alone five years. But when he looked around the carriage at his friends, he realized five years really had passed. None of them were the same as they were five years ago.

The carriage lurched to a halt in front of the castle and Albus hurried out, leading his friends inside, eager to get into the Great Hall and eat. He kept a close eye on Matt as they walked through the crowded Entrance Hall and noticed Rose did the same. But Matt showed no signs of having a panic attack, like he had the previous year before the feast.

Having missed the Sorting the previous year, which took place while Albus took Matt up to their dormitory, Albus was quite excited to see this year’s. The amount of Weasleys getting sorted per year had dramatically decreased, but this year both Samantha and Lindy would get sorted. Plus Bethany and Gemma.

Albus glanced up at the staff table to see if his dad was there yet, and he was, seated in between Professors Longbottom and Burke. Burke looked just as ill as he had the previous year and Albus was close enough to notice he was still shaking. There were more people than usual at the staff table. Albus was surprised to see Professor Trelawney, who usually didn’t grace the student body with her presence at meals, and less surprised to see Madam MacDougal. But Aunt Hermione was also there, which made Albus realize she must be representing the board of governors.

“They must be making some sort of announcement,” Matt said, gesturing to MacDougal. “Think anyone will be sacked?”

“The only one likely would be Binns,” Albus said. “And that’s probably more trouble than it’s worth.”

“Or Trelawney,” John added.

“They wouldn’t do it in front of the whole school,” Rose pointed out. “Did Lily ever arrive?”

Albus scanned the table and spotted her at the opposite end, in between Hugo and Ashtyn, looking much more subdued than usual. “There she is.”

“Good,” Rose said.

“Burke still looks ill,” Matt pointed out.

“Guess he hasn’t finished his potion,” Amanda said.

“But he’s here,” Kaden said. “So he must be okay.”

“Still, I can’t imagine it’ll be easy teaching in that state,” Matt said quietly.

“What’s taking so long?” John asked, craning his head to see the door, where there was no sign of the first years. “I’m starving.”

“Maybe there was trouble on the lake,” Rose suggested, furrowing her brow.

“If there was, I bet my sister created it,” John muttered.

“The professors don’t seem worried yet,” Kaden said.

That was true. The professors were still chatting at the staff table, oblivious to the hungry students below them. But ten minutes later there was still no sign of the first years and the excited chatter in the room had turned to urgent whispering.

Kaden had turned a delicate shade of green and was staring at his empty plate. “I was just trying to scare her a bit. I didn’t mean anything by it….”

“What?” Matt asked.

“Bethany. I exaggerated all those stories of us nearly dying every year and now she’s going to drown in the lake!”

“She is not going to drown in the lake!” Rose said. “I’m sure there is a perfectly logical reason why it’s taking them so long that doesn’t involve Bethany drowning.”

“Quiet!” Professor Kendrick shouted. The whispering ceased at once. “Professor Potter and I will investigate what the hold-up is. Until then, I urge you to remain calm.”

Professor Kendrick descended from the platform with Dad, both of their wands raised. The whispers started up again as soon as they left.

“Mum will kill her if she had anything to do with this,” John said. “She’s already out of patience when it comes to this stuff because of me. She always says if it weren’t for Ashtyn, she’d be locked up in the madhouse.”

“At least now she only has one at home,” Amanda pointed out.

John nodded. “When Amelia starts next year, she and Dad are going on a month-long holiday on September 2nd.”

Ten minutes later Dad returned with Professors Kendrick and Patil, the latter of whom looked incredibly frazzled. Behind them were the fifty or so first years, all completely soaked. Half of them looked excited and the other half looked terrified. At the end of the line were Samantha, Lindy, Gemma, and Bethany, the wettest of them all. Gemma’s cloak was missing. All four looked sheepish.

John groaned. “It was her.”

“It was all four of them,” Albus said. “Uncle Percy’s going to go mental.”

“I hope we’re here when they get their howlers in the morning,” Kaden said eagerly. “My parents probably won’t care. Compared to what I’ve done, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

The Sorting Hat burst into song and Albus was pleased that it seemed to sing faster than normal. He felt certain his friends could hear his stomach growling over the Hat, and hoped all the new first years had fast sortings. Once it finished, Professor Patil picked up her list and the Hat, and stared out at the first years. She gave the instructions and called the first name. A tall, lanky boy with longish sandy brown hair stepped forward. The Hat had barely touched his head before it called out ‘Slytherin!’

“Brickston, Gemma!” Patil called.

John’s sister ran forward, the sheepish grin now replaced with a normal grin. She sat eagerly on the stool and let Patil drop the hat onto her head.

“Please be Hufflepuff, please be Hufflepuff,” John muttered.

“I thought you said there wasn’t a chance,” Albus said.

“There isn’t,” John replied.

“Gryffindor!”

Gemma stood up and ran to the Gryffindor table, her grin nearly as wide as her face. She stopped behind John and Kaden and weaseled her way in between the two of them, much to both of their chagrin.

“Want to tell me what happened on the lake?” John asked.

“Nothing happened,” Gemma said.

“Something happened. You lot were twenty minutes late.”

“And you assume it was my fault?” Gemma asked, glaring at him with a stare worthy of her mother. “Why?”

“Because I know you!” John exclaimed. “And you might as well tell me because once Mum finds out she’ll send a howler and then the whole school will know.”

“Shhh!” Gemma hissed. “Bethany’s next!”

Albus had missed Patil calling out his cousin’s name while listening to John and Gemma. He watched as she sat on the stool and the Hat fell over her head, completely covering her face down to her nose.

“Gryffindor!”

Bethany hurried to the table, where she sat in between her brother and Gemma. John turned back to the sorting, making no move to continue interrogating his sister.

Albus watched as the group of first years dwindled, separating into the four House tables, until the only two left were his cousins. Both were sorted into Gryffindor before the Hat had time to get settled on their heads, something that didn’t surprise Albus at all. As of yet, none of the Weasleys had turned out as anything but Gryffindors, and now Eddie was the only one left.

Samantha and Lindy pushed their way in between Rose and Matt, so that they were across from Bethany and Gemma. Matt didn’t seem to pleased to have two squealing eleven-year-olds next to him, but Rose didn’t seem to mind.

“Welcome,” Professor Kendrick said. “Welcome back to returning students, and to the first years, welcome to Hogwarts. I have more announcements than usual tonight, but for now, we eat.” He waved his arms and the golden plates filled with the usual feast delicacies.

“Now will you explain?” John asked as he filled his plate.

Gemma sighed. “It wasn’t me. I swear, John.”

“It was me,” Lindy said. “But I didn’t mean to!”

“And it was bloody cold on that lake!” Samantha said.

“Can one of you just explain what happened?” Albus asked.

“I tried to conjure some flames to keep us warm,” Lindy said. “I thought it would be okay, since the lake is made of, well, water. What was the worst that could happen?”

“You burned up the boat,” Bethany said flatly.

John groaned. Kaden burst out laughing. Rose and Matt sighed. Amanda raised her eyebrows at the twins. Albus simply stared at them, unable to figure out why they thought conjuring flames before they had one class would be a good idea.

“You realize the boats are made of wood,” Rose said.

Lindy’s face reddened. “I’m sorry!”

“Then what happened?” Albus asked.

“We all jumped into the lake,” Lindy said. “Hagrid put out the fire, but the boat had sunk. We climbed into other boats and then went to the castle. It wasn’t that bad.”

“Did you see the Giant Squid?” Kaden asked eagerly.

“Giant Squid?” Bethany said, her eyes large. “No.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll meet him if you go swimming in the lake,” Kaden assured her.

Bethany looked like the last thing she wanted to do was swim in the lake with the Giant Squid, but Kaden didn’t notice.

“What did Patil say?” Rose asked.

“She gave me a detention,” Lindy muttered.

“Just her, though,” Samantha said.

“Uncle Percy will be so proud,” Albus said, smirking.

“The first of many, I’m sure,” Samantha added.

Albus mostly listened to John and Gemma bicker throughout the feast. Listening to the two of them made him appreciate Lily more, since Lily never had any desire to drive Albus nuts while at Hogwarts, which seemed to be what Gemma was trying to do to John. Gemma also talked a lot. Even if Albus had wanted to say something, he wouldn’t have been able to get a word in edgewise. Mostly he smirked at Matt, who seemed to be having trouble stifling his laughter at some of the things Gemma was going on about, as well as how much of a rise she was getting out of John.

“She reminds me a little of Kaden,” Matt said as they served themselves pudding.

“Gemma?” Albus asked.

Matt nodded. “She’s as talkative and as energetic. Plus the whole trouble-making thing. Bethany doesn’t seem much like Kaden.”

“She’s not,” Albus said. “She’s really quiet, until she gets to know you. Plus, with Kaden around, she probably never had the chance to say much.”

Matt laughed. “Did you see them much growing up?”

“Not until Kaden got his Hogwarts letter. Once a year at the most. I think it was really awkward for Dad and Dudley, Kaden and Bethany’s dad. I think they’ve mostly gotten over that now.”

Once the final bits of pudding disappeared from the gold plates, Professor Kendrick stood and gestured for quiet. Gemma was the last one in the room to close her mouth, only quieting after a glare from John.

“Thank you,” Kendrick said. “I think we can all agree that the house elves outdid themselves this year. My hat goes off to them!”

Everyone murmured in agreement. Albus felt sure he wouldn’t even be able to move when Kendrick dismissed them.

“Onto the announcements. As usual, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds, as is the direct vicinity around the Whomping Willow.”

“The what?” Gemma said. “Whomping Willow?”

“Shh!” John said.

“No magic is permitted in the corridors. The number of objects banned from the castle has now reached a record number. The full list may be perused on Mr. Filch’s door. Mr. Filch would also wish me to tell you that a good guideline is if the object may be purchased at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, it is against the rules to have it in the castle. Along the same lines, Madam Pomfrey would like me to tell you that if you use Skiving Snackboxes to get out of class not to go see her. She has enough on her plate dealing with, and I quote, ‘real illnesses.’”

A ripple of laughter spread throughout the room. Albus knew the nurse was fed up with most of the student body and was one of the few who knew she planned to retire at the end of next year.

“Anyone who wishes to try out for their House Quidditch team can sign up in their common rooms. I believe all four teams have vacancies this year. First years are reminded that they are not allowed to try out. Now, onto the more unusual announcements.

“I’d like to welcome back Professor Potter, who has left his job at the Ministry to teach full time. Let’s give him a warm welcome.”

A roar of applause came over the room, the loudest of all coming from the Gryffindor table. Dad raised his hand in acknowledgement, but didn’t stand or attempt to give a speech.

“The following announcements are a result of Madam MacDougal’s observations last year. The Education Department at the Ministry worked with the school governors, myself, and the other professors all summer to assess what needed to change here at the school. To announce these changes, I welcome Hermione Granger, one of the governors.”

Aunt Hermione stood and walked to the dais, where she shook Kendrick’s hand. Kendrick took a seat.

“Thank you, Professor Kendrick,” Aunt Hermione said. “In an effort to bring the Hogwarts curricula up to date, we have decided on a number of course changes. We have voted and decided Divination will no longer continue, after the current Divination students complete their O.W.L.s in the subject. As there was not a N.E.W.T. Divination course last year, N.E.W.T. Divination is discontinued as of now. Divination will no longer be an option for this year’s third years. Professor Trelawney has agreed to these terms and will retire in two years’ time.

“To replace Divination, Hogwarts will offer two new courses. The first is Magical Theory and the second is Alchemy. Both are open to current third years only, and if they go well this year, they will continue.”

“Only third years?” Rose whispered. “That’s not fair.”

“You want to take more classes?” John asked.

“I wonder where the new professors are for those subjects,” Matt said.

“If they’re only teaching third years, they have no reason to live in the castle,” Rose pointed out. “That’s only a few classes a week.”

After a year of observations, all they were doing was getting rid of Divination and adding two more classes? Young most likely would’ve been sacked if he hadn’t quit, but it didn’t look like anyone else was getting sacked.

“Lastly,” Aunt Hermione continued, “Hogwarts is going to implement a program this year that will hopefully better prepare sixth and seventh years for their time after Hogwarts. If it goes well, it will be continued in the future.”

That got Albus’s attention. The third years could keep their new classes. This sounded far more exciting.

“The program will be mandatory for sixth years and optional for seventh years, as seventh years may need to focus all their attention on their upcoming N.E.W.T.s.”

“Likes to keep us in suspense, doesn’t she?” John said.

“Shh!” Rose hissed.

“The program will provide internships for all sixth years and interested seventh years,” Aunt Hermione explained. The internships will start in October and go through May, and you will work once or twice a week, depending on the internship. There will be an information session tomorrow after classes, at four, where you will learn the details. All sixth years are required to attend, and all seventh years who think they may want to participate must attend as well.

“I think this will be an exciting year. Please ask your heads of house if you have any questions regarding the new classes or internships.”

Aunt Hermione returned to her seat amidst scattered applause. Hardly anyone seemed very excited, but Albus wasn’t surprised since the new classes only affected third years and only sixth and seventh years could do internships.

“I’m going to sneak out,” Matt whispered.

Albus nodded. “See you in a bit.”

“Where’s he going?” Gemma asked as Matt left.

“None of your business,” John said.

Professor Kendrick stepped back up to the dais. “Yes, very exciting, indeed. I suggest an early night for all. Prefects, please escort the first years to your common rooms.”

Albus was all too happy to pass that task onto the fifth year prefects and walk up to the common room with John, Kaden, and Amanda (Rose had elected to help the fifth year prefects). They took a few shortcuts and by the time they reached the seventh floor they were far ahead of everyone else. Once they reached the Fat Lady, Albus gave her the password and they clambered through the portrait hole.

The familiar circular common room hadn’t changed. The squashy armchairs were in front of the crackling fire, and the rest of the furniture sat scattered throughout the rest of the room. The portraits were having a lively conversation about something that had happened centuries ago. The notice board was empty, save for a big sign-up sheet for Quidditch. It felt good to be back.

John hurried over to the notice board and was the first one to sign up for Quidditch try-outs. Albus knew his spot on the team was guaranteed, and was very happy about it. John would be a practically seamless entry onto the team.

“Where’s Matt?” Kaden asked.

“Dormitory, maybe?” Albus suggested.

“He probably wanted to escape my sister and the others,” John said. “I’ll go check.”

John ran up the staircase and returned a minute later, alone.

“Not there?” Albus said.

“Nope. Probably in the Marauder’s Den. Definitely avoiding my sister.”

“She’s not going to follow you around all year, is she?” Kaden asked as they turned to leave.

“I don’t think so,” John said. “Damn, I still have her wand.”

“Give it to her later,” Kaden said.

The four retraced their steps and climbed back out into the corridor, earning a disgruntled look from the Fat Lady as they did so. At the other end of the corridor were the first years, led by Rose and the two fifth year prefects. They were somehow louder than they had been in the Great Hall, despite the fact that there were only around ten of them. There weren’t any other girls besides the twins, Bethany, and Gemma. The six boys walked behind the girls, their own voices drowned out by Gemma’s. Gemma was easily the tallest of the bunch. She even looked to be an inch or so taller than Matt, something Albus hoped he wouldn’t realize. Given her height, she could easily fit in with the fourth years.

“I want my wand,” Gemma said loudly as they got within a few meters.

“Promise you won’t set fire to anything else,” John said as he pulled out the wand and held it above his head. John easily had a foot on his sister.

“Fine. I promise I won’t intentionally set anything on fire,” Gemma said. “Where are you off to, anyway?”

John handed her the wand. “None of your business. Go to bed. Mum told you not to stay up late.”

Gemma muttered something that her mother certainly wouldn’t have approved of and stalked off to the other first years.

“Meet us when you’re done, Rose!” Albus shouted as they passed each other.

“I’ll be there in ten,” Rose said.

Albus, John, Kaden, and Amanda reached the Marauder’s Den a short while later and when Albus opened the door, he found it was just as they left it. Matt was on the couch, leafing through one of his textbooks, but it didn’t look like he was paying much attention. He set it down as Albus and the others walked in.

“Sick of my sister yet?” John asked as he sprawled out on the floor.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Matt said. “Just eating dinner with her gave me a headache.”

“Everything gives you a headache,” Kaden pointed out. “But I agree. I’m really glad my sister is quiet.”

“Just wait until Gemma corrupts her,” John said.

“All of you make me happy my little brother isn’t a wizard,” Amanda said, smirking.

“All right,” John said. “Enough about sisters. Let’s talk about what’s really important. Kaden, any ideas for Mischief Night?”

Albus groaned and sat down next to Matt, who rolled his eyes. Amanda joined them and they listened, stifling their laughter, as John and Kaden suggested more and more outrageous prank ideas. Yes, it was good to be back.

8. Internships

Albus always wondered why Professor Longbottom didn’t owl everyone’s schedules out ahead of time, rather than run around like a chicken with its head cut off at breakfast on September 2nd. Maybe the class schedules weren’t finalized until the last minute, or maybe Kendrick was worried about kids losing their schedules before the first day of classes (or forgetting them at home). Or, maybe, it was simply the way Hogwarts had always done it. Whatever the reason, Albus watched Longbottom running around the Gryffindor table handing out schedules while students ate breakfast and either moaned or shrieked excitedly upon seeing their schedule.

Albus, Matt, and John had all received their schedules as soon as they’d sat down across from the girls, who were already perusing their own. Kaden hadn’t arrived yet.

“This is brilliant,” John said as he dumped sausages onto his plate. “I’ve got the whole afternoon free. Every Tuesday and every Thursday afternoon, completely free! And only one class in the mornings!” He glanced at Albus’s schedule and laughed. “And while I’m relaxing, you’ll be stuck in double Potions!”

“Excellent,” Matt agreed. “I’m glad I didn’t continue with Potions.”

“You didn’t get the marks to continue with Potions even if you wanted to,” John reminded him.

Albus looked at his own schedule. Double Potions was in fact, twice a week. N.E.W.T. Potions must be a lot harder than O.W.L. Potions, to require that much class time. But he’d have free time on Monday afternoons, Tuesday mornings, Thursday mornings, and Friday afternoons. It wasn’t as much as Matt and John would have, since they were only taking five classes to Albus’s six, but it was good enough.

“They didn’t have enough people sign up for History of Magic,” Rose said. “It was just Amanda and I, so they aren’t doing it. Do you think Professor Longbottom would let me take Arithmancy instead?”

“You’re already at the recommended number,” John said. “You’re at six.”

“I know, but it just seems weird, having the free time,” Rose said. “I mean, it’ll be used for studying. But still, I might ask to do it.”

Kaden sat down next to Rose and took the sausages from John. “Quit complaining. My schedule’s packed. O.W.L. year and all.”

Albus laughed. “Told you we’d get you back for all that gloating.”

“Shut up,” Kaden said in between bites. “Wish I’d known I had Divination this morning. Would’ve gotten up earlier. I’ve got about two minutes to eat.”

“I wonder how pissed Trelawney is that they’re getting rid of it,” John said.

“I’m only surprised they took this long to do it,” Rose muttered. “Useless class.”

“And you lot get to do internships,” Kaden continued. “That’s not fair. I want to do an internship.”

“You wouldn’t even leave the castle for yours. You’d work with Professor Burke,” Albus said. “Do you think they’ll let us pick them?”

“I hope so,” Rose said eagerly. “I want to do mine at St. Mungo’s.”

Albus doubted the Department of Mysteries would take on interns. Their work was too secretive to involve Hogwarts students. But perhaps he could do his internship in the Auror Department. It would mean working with Auror Johnson, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe he’d find out information about the murders he normally wouldn’t.

Amanda was hoping for an internship with the Ministry, either through the Muggle Liaison Office or the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Even John seemed excited at the prospect of doing an internship with a Quidditch team.

“I won’t be able to play, but even just observing a team from the inside would be cool,” John said.

The only one who didn’t seem excited about doing an internship was Matt, which didn’t surprise Albus at all. Internships were just one step closer to the real world, to life outside Hogwarts. And for Matt, the real world was more complicated than normal. He didn’t say a word throughout breakfast and only nibbled at a piece of toast.

Kaden left for Divination, cursing the North Tower as he went. Albus saw Gemma, the twins, and Bethany further down the table, consulting their schedules and then leaving.

A few minutes later the group set off for Charms, which was one of three classes all five of them were taking. Talk of internships continued on the journey, so Albus hung back to walk with Matt, who was a few steps behind.

“Do you know when you’re going to do Occlumency yet?” Albus asked, deciding to avoid the topic of internships.

Matt nodded. “Your aunt sent me an owl last night. Monday and Thursday nights, so I’ve got one tonight. Do you think Billius or Ethan would notice if I never showed up in the dormitory those nights? I’m thinking of staying in the Den since the nightmares are even worse after Occlumency. Then once it starts working I could go back. I don’t want to wake them up every time I get a nightmare. But I don’t know which would be more suspicious.”

“You could put a silencing charm around your bed,” Albus suggested. “They’d probably just assume you were at the hospital wing, but twice a week would be a lot more than normal.”

“I don’t know how to do that type of silencing charm,” Matt said.

“Rose would do it. And I bet we’ll learn them soon.”

Charms, it seemed, was a popular option. When Albus and his friends arrived at the classroom a few minutes later, they saw their N.E.W.T. class would have more people in it than their O.W.L. class. All four houses were represented, including every single one of the Ravenclaws. The only Gryffindors missing were Karina and Billius, only two of the Hufflepuffs were missing, and half the Slytherins seemed to have dropped the class. That left over thirty students.

“I bet it wasn’t this packed when Washburn taught,” Albus whispered to Matt as they sat down at a table with John, Rose, and Amanda.

Matt snorted. “They probably didn’t even offer it.”

“Albus!”

Albus turned around and saw Marina. His heart sped up and he felt his cheeks redden. Why was that still happening? He didn’t even like Marina that way anymore.

“Hi, Marina.”

“Good summer?” Marina asked.

Albus nodded. “You?”

Marina smiled. “It was great.”

“Where’s your sister?” Albus asked.

Marina sighed. “She only got an Acceptable. But don’t tell her I told you that. She’d kill me.”

N.E.W.T. charms proved to be basically the same as O.W.L. charms, except they were learning different charms. Cedonia still taught the same way and she still gave the same amount of homework. Their first lesson had been about sound amplification charms, which were apparently easier than silencing charms for small areas or rooms.

“I wish she’d teach us silencing charms first,” Matt said as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower. “The last thing I want is an amplification charm.”

Albus laughed. “You could put one on Billius and his snoring would be so loud no one would hear your nightmares.”

***

Albus had to admit he was actually excited to continue with Potions, but his excitement lay in being able to keep tabs on Professor Burke and possibly learn more about his illegal Polyjuice brewing and selling. Albus was not excited to actually take N.E.W.T. Potions, as it was widely accepted as Hogwarts’ most difficult course. Some people argued that title belonged to N.E.W.T. Arithmancy, but as Albus was not taking that particular course, he couldn’t compare.

In stark contrast to Charms earlier in the day, the Potions dungeon was practically empty when Albus, Rose, and Amanda showed up after lunch. Professor Burke was there, seated in front of his desk, breathing in the thick steam emanating from his no-longer-a-complete-mystery cauldron. His cane was propped up against the desk. The dungeon itself was still thick with steam, and had not changed a bit.

The only other Gryffindor there was Marina. Malfoy was there, which was no surprise to Albus, but still a disappointment. His table was filled with other Slytherins including Jackson Limbert, Garth Octavius, and Elle Faxon. At the table at the front sat Olivia Price from Hufflepuff, and Justin Brink, Miranda Corner, and Carter Eubert from Ravenclaw.

Albus, Rose, and Amanda joined Marina at her table and Albus realized he’d probably be partnering with her because Matt no longer took Potions.

“That can’t be healthy, can it?” Marina whispered, gesturing to Burke and his potion.

Albus shrugged, not wanting to hint that he knew anything about Burke’s potion. “Probably not, for any of us.”

The bell rang and Professor Burke stood up slowly. He jerkily grasped his cane and and walked in front of the desk, keeping one hand on the cane and one on the desk the entire time. When he reached the front of the desk, he leaned heavily on it

“Welcome to N.E.W.T. Potions. I want a show of hands. Who is taking this class because it’s a requirement of their intended career path?”

Albus glanced around the room and tentatively raised his hand. So did most everyone else, except for Amanda and Jackson.

“Interesting. And, of the remaining, who is taking this class because they think it might be useful later on?”

Amanda and Jackson both raised their hands.

“Huh. So no one is taking this because they truly love Potions.”

Albus had a feeling the only person in the castle who loved Potions as much as Burke did was Kaden.

“I heard my predecessor liked to set contests with prizes on the first day of every year, to see where his students lay in terms of skill. I personally believe Potions are their own reward, but this class has such an…interesting mix of talent, I thought we might start a project. The potion I am going to have you brew will take a month, and as for the prize, I haven’t decided yet.” He waved his wand at the board. “The instructions are on the board.”

Rose shot her hand into the air. “Sir? We can’t see the board.”

“Right,” Burke muttered. He waved his wand to clear the smoke.

Albus’s jaw dropped when he saw the title of the potion.

“The potion is Polyjuice Potion,” Burke announced. “It’s incredibly difficult and temperamental, and I doubt any of you will brew it satisfactorily. But I’d like to see you try. This potion gave the Ministry quite a bit of trouble last spring, so this is an appropriate task. You’ll be able to see just how hard it is to brew, and why people might go through great lengths to obtain it. I’d also like an essay on the potion- its effects, why it’s dangerous, its classification, and why it has received that classification. Due a week from today. And you are to brew this alone. Get going.”

“What’s he up to?” Rose asked after Marina hurried off to the supply closet. “Why is he having us brew this?”

“I have a hunch,” Albus said as he watched Burke hobble back to his chair. “I’ll tell you later. But Rose?”

“Yes?”

“I wouldn’t try too hard on this,” Albus muttered. “I know you always do your best, but for once, try to be average.”

“But Albus-“

“Seriously, Rose,” Albus said, still watching Burke, whose hand jerked as he sat down and knocked over his goblet, sending potion across his desk. “Be average.”

Rose raised her eyebrows and gave Albus a very suspicious look, but didn’t say anything before getting up and joining the queue at the supply closet. Albus hoped she’d take his warning seriously and not try to win the contest, because if his theory was correct, the “prize” in this contest wouldn’t be much of a prize.

Albus collected his ingredients last and spent more time watching Professor Burke than actually brewing. Burke hardly moved at all during the lesson, but steadily drank his potion, his hands shakier than ever. His illness seemed to have progressed over the summer and Albus doubted he could do so much as stir a cauldron, let alone prepare ingredients.

Albus wondered if the potion was helping. It didn’t seem to be, but what if Burke would be even worse without it? The concept reminded Albus of Matt’s anxiety potion, which didn’t subdue all the symptoms, but allowed him to go about his life without having panic attacks everyday.

By the time Burke announced it was time to clean up, Albus had done the least amount of work out of everyone in the room. If they’d had to brew a potion for a grade that day, Albus would’ve gotten a T. Not the best start to term, but Albus didn’t feel guilty about it at all. He didn’t want to win the contest. He didn’t want to come in second or third place either, for that matter. Nor did he want to brew a satisfactory Polyjuice Potion.

“You should be finished with the first part,” Burke announced. “It will need to brew for 21 days. That puts us at the 23rd, which is perfect timing for the fluxweed to have been picked on the full moon. I will need volunteers to go into the forest during the full moon on the 20th to obtain fluxweed.”

Albus’s potion was not done, nor did he want to go into the forest to collect fluxweed again. He turned around and saw that all four Slytherins had raised their hands. No surprises there.

“Wonderful,” Burke said. “Malfoy, Octavius, Limbert, Faxon. I’ll ask Hagrid to accompany you.”

The bell rang and all twelve students hastily put their cauldrons on the back table and lit fires beneath them. With twelve additional cauldrons brewing for the rest of the month, the dungeon would be even smokier than before.

Albus felt relieved once they left the room. Burke always gave him an uneasy feeling, and a summer away from Hogwarts had done nothing to quell it.

“What was that about?” Rose asked.

“Later,” Albus muttered. “I want to tell Matt, John, and Kaden, too. And we’ve got to get to the internship meeting.”

Albus had stayed up half the night thinking about his internship. Thinking about interning in the Auror Department excited him more than playing Quidditch, or even dueling. While he didn’t know yet whether he’d be allowed to pick his internship, he didn’t see why not. Wouldn’t it make more sense to pair students with their interests?

He hadn’t had a chance to discuss the internships much with his friends since they’d only been announced the previous day. Everyone except Rose had part of the morning free, but they all went to visit Hagrid, who regaled them with tales of hippogriff care. Apparently one of Hagrid’s hippogriffs had had babies over the summer, and they had required near constant attention from Hagrid until they reached a month old.

Every time someone did bring up the topic of internships, Matt (not so subtly) changed the subject. After the third time that happened during lunch, everyone else stopped bringing it up. Albus had yet to figure out the exact reason for Matt’s aversion to an internship, although he imagined it had to do with him not wanting to leave Hogwarts, but he hoped the meeting would quell his fears.

The four house tables in the Great Hall had been removed and replaced with chairs, the way they had for the candidate debates during the minister elections two years ago. It wasn’t quite four yet, so the room was still mostly empty. Professor Kendrick, Professor Patil, and Aunt Hermione were at the staff table, shuffling through a stack of parchment.

Albus, Rose, and Amanda took seats toward the back and Albus turned around to watch for Matt and John while Rose and Amanda discussed Professor Burke’s rapidly declining health.

The rest of the sixth years trickled in and sat with their houses, even though that wasn’t required. A few seventh years showed up as well, but Albus wasn’t surprised by the small numbers. Doing an internship meant losing precious revision time. Matt and John were a few of the last to stroll in, John looking excited and Matt looking anxious.

“How was Potions?” John asked as he and Matt took the two seats on Albus’s left.

“Albus has another theory about Burke,” Rose said. “And he won’t explain.”

“I told you I’d explain later!” Albus said. “What did you two do this afternoon?”

“I went for a fly and Matt sat in the stands and read,” John said.

“Al!”

Albus turned around and saw James hurrying down the aisle in between the two sections of chairs. He slid into the row behind them and sat directly behind Albus. He did not look happy.

“James? You’re doing an internship?”

“Dad made me come to this,” James muttered. “He told me he can’t force me to do an internship, but he wanted me to listen to the benefits.”

“Hello, sixth and seventh years,” Aunt Hermione said.

Albus turned around and noticed both Aunt Hermione and Professor Kendrick were now facing the group. Professor Patil had begun passing out the parchment.

“I am going to serve as the Internship Coordinator this year,” Aunt Hermione said. “This program has been in the works for a year, and we are on track to begin internships at the beginning of October. I’ll give you some background on how it came to be.

“Internships are common in the Muggle world, both at the secondary school level and the university level. They prepare students for the work force by giving them a sense of what potential jobs are like, as well as allowing them to experience their intended field before committing to it. It is unfortunately often the case where a student decides to go into a particular field, does the training, and then discovers they do not enjoy it. This program is intended to reduce that occurrence. More importantly, internships can often lead to jobs. If the business or organization you intern for already knows you do a good job, they will be more likely to hire you when you leave Hogwarts.

“We intend to place every one of you in an internship related to the field you wish to go into. A wide variety of businesses and organizations have signed up, and the list is on the sheet being handed out by Professor Patil. You will have until tomorrow evening to turn in your top three choices to your head of house.”

Matt handed Albus the stack of parchment and he took one and passed them on to Rose. The list was very long and was organized by type. There was a section for internships in shops, a section for internships at St. Mungo’s, internships at the Ministry, internships with Quidditch teams, and internships that did not fit into any of the other categories. Albus noticed every internship listed a name beneath it.

The name beneath ‘Auror Department’ was Robert Johnson.

“You’ll notice the names beneath each internship,” Aunt Hermione continued. “This is the person who will evaluate you and who will be in charge of your internship. This brings me to the rules. You may not sign up for an internship where a relative is in charge.”

That certainly narrowed down the choices for Albus. He was suddenly glad his father was no longer the head of the Auror Department. If he still was, Albus wouldn’t be able to do his internship there.

Albus noticed Matt’s hands were shaking as he held his parchment, and Albus scanned his own parchment until his eyes reached ‘werewolf support services’ and ‘werewolf control unit.’ Walter Eckerton was listed for both.

“You will be required to go to your internship at least once a week. Whether you go once or twice should depend on your course load. The days of the week and times you go will be set by the person in charge of your internship and will depend on your class schedule. The times, as well as which internship is assigned to you, will be owled to you sometime next week.

“If you are a seventh year and have your Apparition license, you will have permission to walk to Hogsmeade and Apparate to your internship from there. Everyone else will Floo from their head of house’s study. Any questions?”

A few hands, including James’s, went up.

“Yes, James?” Aunt Hermione said.

“Will the times be scheduled around Quidditch practice?”

“If your assigned time is inconvenient due to Quidditch or any other school related function, you can rearrange the time with whoever is in charge of your internship. Next question? Yes, you in the front.”

“What exactly will we do in the internships? If we’re at St. Mungo’s, we can’t actually do healing spells,” Olivia Price asked.

Aunt Hermione smiled. “Obviously not. It will depend on the internship as to how much you get to experience. Obviously, it will be less if you intern with a healer, due to confidentiality. Next?”

“Can more than one person do the same internship?” Patrick Porlan asked.

“Some of them, yes,” Aunt Hermione said. “St. Mungo’s, for example, is willing to take one intern in every department, plus more for nursing and clerical work. Others, such as the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, are so small they can only take one. For those, we’ll pick based on demonstrated interest, or even O.W.L. scores.”

Albus tuned out the rest of the questions. He didn’t have any of his own, and he already knew that he wanted to intern in the Auror Department, since the Department of Mysteries was not on the list. That wasn’t a surprise. As far as Albus was concerned, he couldn’t wait for October to begin so he could start.

Albus noticed quite a few of his family members had signed on to be in charge of internships. His mother was in charge of the Daily Prophet’s internship, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes was offering one under the care of Uncle George, Grandpa Weasley was of course in charge of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts one. Albus hoped someone signed on for that. It wasn’t a popular department, but Albus had a feeling his grandfather would feel bad if no one signed up. Uncle Bill was in charge of the Gringott’s one, and Aunt Alicia was in charge of one with the Appleby Arrows. Aunt Alicia did public relations for the Arrows, so Albus would have to make sure John knew that one would have little to do with actual Quidditch playing.

John’s father’s name was listed for the spell damage option with St. Mungo’s. It looked like Amanda would be the only one for whom every single internship was a possibility, although Albus had a feeling she’d pick something with International Magical Cooperation.

Aunt Hermione dismissed them a short while later so that the Great Hall could be set up for dinner, which was set to begin in half an hour. Rather than go all the way back up to Gryffindor, Albus and his friends decided to go for a walk by the lake. It was a beautiful day, quite possibly one of the last of the year, and they figured they might as well take advantage of the early evening sun.

9. New Beaters

Kaden was all too eager to help the sixth years pick out their internships as they relaxed in the Marauder’s Den after dinner. They were only one day into term and Kaden was already fed up with the extra work the professors were assigning in preparation for O.W.L.s. His homework sat unopened on the floor while he poured over the list of internships with everyone else.

Albus and Rose had already decided on their top choices and were fairly certain they’d get them, since they were a few of the only sixth years who knew exactly what they wanted to do after Hogwarts. John was debating which Quidditch teams to pick and in which order to rank them. Amanda couldn’t decide between the International Confederation of Wizards, the International Magical Office of Law, and the Muggle Liaison Office for her top pick. Matt hadn’t said one word about his internship or anyone else’s, and sat on the couch, staring at his list while everyone else crowded around the table.

“I want to pick Puddlemere,” John said, furrowing his brow. “But what if it’s something that’s not related to playing Quidditch, like what your aunt does with the Arrows?”

“Even that still has to do with Quidditch,” Rose said. “PR is very important for a Quidditch team.”

“But it’s not playing Quidditch.”

Rose laughed. “You’re not going to get to play. Go with Puddlemere. They’re your favorite team.”

John nodded and scribbled ‘Puddlemere’ in the number one slot at the bottom of the list. “Appleby really is the next best team, but I don’t want to do PR. I could go with the Kestrals and work with Georgia. But the Tornados are good, and so is Ballycastle….”

“They’re Quidditch teams, John,” Rose said flatly. “It’s probably going to be pretty similar for all of them.”

“I could say the same about St. Mungo’s,” John muttered. “They’re all healers.”

“They all do different work!” Rose said. “I don’t think I’ll have a problem getting picked to work with Healer Norlam, though. I haven’t heard of anyone else wanting to go into psychiatry. I’ll pick creature-induced injuries and spell damage as backups.”

“I’d pick one of the brewers,” Kaden said, peering over Albus’s shoulder. “I hope they do this next year.”

“They probably will if it goes well this year,” Albus said.

“What else are you picking?” Kaden asked. “Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee? What’s that?”

Rose smirked. “That’s the department that comes up with excuses Muggles will believe when something magical happens that’s too huge for memory wiping to be practical. Like when Peter Pettigrew blew up that street after Albus’s grandparents were murdered.”

Kaden laughed. “You should pick that, Al.”

Albus shook his head. “I went with the regular MLE office and the Obliviator Headquarters.”

“I think you ought to go with the International Confederation of Wizards as your top pick,” Rose told Amanda. “It would be the most comprehensive. And that’s the department where the ambassadors work.”

Amanda nodded. “That makes sense. I’ll do International Magical Office of Law as my second pick. And then the Muggle Liaison Office.”

That only left Matt. Albus folded his list, wrote his name on the outside, and turned to Matt, who still hadn’t said a word. He hadn’t seemed to notice that the chatter had ceased and the focus was now on him. He was still staring at his list, but his eyes had glazed over.

“Matt,” Rose said as she got up and sat down next to him. “What are you thinking?”

Matt startled and turned to Rose. He set his list down on the arm of the couch. “I can’t do this.”

Rose reached across him and picked up the list. “Why not?”

Matt stared at the wall for a minute before turning back to Rose. “I…I don’t know if I’ll have to tell the person in charge of my internship about…what I am.”

Rose bit her lip and looked at Albus questioningly. Rose, it seemed, did not have an answer to this question, but neither did Albus.

“I don’t know,” Rose said. “As far as I know, this is the first time Hogwarts has done internships-“

“And definitely the first time a werewolf has done one,” Matt cut in. “Teddy’s dad never did one. But an internship is like a job. According to the law, I’d have to tell.”

“But you aren’t of age,” Rose argued. “And you won’t be getting paid. Lycanthropy is a medical condition-“

“Which I had to disclose to the professors,” Matt said. “And if the people in charge of the internships are evaluating us, they’re kind of like our professors, right? So they’d have to know.”

Rose sighed. “I really don’t know. I sort of doubt there’s anything in the law about this, but the law mandating werewolves to inform their employers of their condition could be construed in a way for it to apply to this.”

“Exactly,” Matt said quietly. “And I can’t do that. Not for an internship. Not for something I won’t even get paid to do.”

Albus didn’t blame him. Why risk it? Why risk another scandal just for a school requirement?

“But it’s a requirement,” Rose said. “You have to do it.”

“I can’t,” Matt said, his eyes wide. “I really can’t.”

“If you don’t, everyone will wonder why you aren’t,” Kaden pointed out. “You’re a sixth year. Everyone else will be doing them.”

Matt glanced from Kaden to Albus and back to Rose. He looked even more terrified at the thought of everyone wondering why he was exempt than the thought of doing an internship in the first place. “I- I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Would the professors even let you out of it?” John asked.

“I- I don’t know,” Matt said, his voice cracking. “But I c-can’t do it. Not if it meant someone else finding out. Too many people know already. You lot, and all the professors, and M-Malfoy, and Teddy and Victoire and Rose’s mum, and Al’s parents and John’s dad and all the healers and nurses and crap…that’s a lot of people…I never realized just how many people-“

“Wait,” Rose interrupted. “I just thought of something.”

Albus was grateful for Rose’s interruption. Even from across the room, he could see Matt was shaking, and his face was glistening with sweat. He didn’t need a panic attack on the second day of term.

“What?” Matt asked quietly.

“Look, if you have to tell whoever’s in charge of your internship about your lycanthropy, there’s nothing any of us can do. I mean, half the reason all the professors are required to know is in case some sort of emergency happens, like if you got really ill or something. It’s just like if someone is allergic to something. They all know you can’t be around aconite, too. It’s for your own safety. So if you look at it from that perspective, they will have to know, just in case something happens to you. Since you’re not of age, whoever’s in charge of your internship will be in charge of you while you’re doing the internship. It’s a liability thing.”

That didn’t seem to calm Matt down. If anything, it just made things worse.

“So I have to tell? There’s no getting out of it?” he asked, the panic obvious in his voice.

Rose nodded. “Probably. But wait. I know the internships are supposed to be picked based on what we want to do in the future, but maybe, for you, you ought to pick based on who’s in charge.”

“But I can’t pick my dad’s internships,” Matt reminded her. “I wanted to. I was going to, until your mum read off that rule.”

Rose nodded. “I know. Look at the list. Is there anyone who already knows? Or someone who wouldn’t care, and wouldn’t dare spread it around?”

Matt took the list back from Rose and scanned it. “Just Balladanis, for the MLE one. But I won’t work with him. He’s too creepy.”

“Keep looking,” Rose said. Albus could tell she was trying very hard not to smile. Clearly she’d thought of something brilliant, and wanted everyone else to see it as well. But she also wanted Matt to spot it on his own.

“Albus’s mum,” Matt said. “But journalism is going to be taken. I think Emily Rhodes said she wanted to get into journalism. They’ll give it to her.”

“Probably,” Rose agreed. “Keep looking.”

“Your Uncle Bill,” Matt said, looking up from the parchment. “I could do it with him, with Gringotts. He won’t care!”

Rose nodded. “You’ll need backups. Banking will probably be popular. He’ll take more than one, I’m sure, but still. Two more.”

“Right,” Matt said, his hands shaking less as he lifted the parchment up again. “What about your uncle George’s shop? Or…is this your grandfather? The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office?”

Albus laughed. “Yeah. He’d love it if you picked that. The shop’s going to be popular. I’d go for my grandpa’s office for your number two, and the shop for number three.”

Matt borrowed Rose’s quill and quickly scrawled his choices at the bottom. “Okay. Done. What if I don’t get any of them? Would they give me something random?”

“If you were anyone else, yes,” Rose said. “But talk to my aunt next time you have Occlumency and she’ll make sure you get one of those three, if you tell her why.”

“Occlumency!” Matt exclaimed, jumping up. He checked his watch. “I have it in five minutes, in the Room of Requirement.”

“Are you sure you should go tonight?” Rose asked. “After…that?”

Matt hesitated. “You think?”

“Check with my mum. I just think you’d be more susceptible to the Legilimency tonight. You’ll have a harder time closing your mind after dealing with the internship stuff.”

Matt nodded, assured Rose he would explain what had happened to Aunt Hermione, and left for the lesson.

“He’s going to have a rough time finding a job after Hogwarts,” Rose said quietly after he left.

No one replied, but Albus knew they were all thinking the same thing. Matt would have a hard time finding a job, more so because of his fear of telling anyone about his lycanthropy than the lycanthropy itself. Albus hoped Matt would get the internship with Grandpa Weasley, as it would be good for both of them. And who knows? Maybe by the time they graduated, the Ministry would let Grandpa Weasley hire an assistant.

***

When Matt returned to the Marauder’s Den later that night, he promptly fell asleep, so Albus decided to wait until the following day to air his speculations on Professor Burke. Rose was annoyed at this, but Albus didn’t see the point in going over it twice. All of them had late Friday afternoons off, so it was a good time to talk.

Albus, Rose, Matt, John, and Amanda met Kaden in the Marauder’s Den after Transfiguration. It was only a few days into term, but Albus already got the sense that they’d be spending even less time in the common room now that Gemma was at Hogwarts. John was still trying to avoid her, which was hard to do in the small common room.

“I could do without having Malfoy in so many of my classes,” Matt said as he settled onto the couch. “He’s in all of my classes so far. I just hope he’s not in Care of Magical Creatures or Astronomy.”

“Well, he’s in Potions and Herbology, so he probably isn’t,” Rose pointed out. “He hasn’t said anything to you, has he?”

Matt shook his head. “No, but he gives me weird looks, like he’s better than me.”

“He isn’t,” Albus said. “And he just thinks he’s above everyone because his dad is Laurentis’s right hand man.”

“Who’s that?” Kaden asked, as he walked in.

“Malfoy,” Albus explained. “He’s being an arse, like usual.”

“No surprises there,” Kaden muttered. “You can always have Lily put him in his place again.”

John laughed. “I don’t think I’d want to be on Lily’s bad side.”

“You wouldn’t,” Albus confirmed.

“We’re all here now, Al,” Rose said. “Are you going to tell us what’s going on with Burke?”

Albus nodded. “Yeah, all right.”

“What’s going on with Burke?” Kaden asked, glancing from Albus to Rose and back again.”

Albus exchanged a glance with Rose. He hadn’t so much as mentioned anything about Burke’s strange contest to Kaden. He’d mentioned it to Matt and John, but was slightly afraid of what Kaden’s reaction would be.

“Before you freak out,” Albus said to Kaden, “just listen.”

“You’re not going to accuse him of doing anything illegal again, are you?” Kaden demanded.

“This what we know,” Albus said, ignoring Kaden’s comment. “Burke is desperate for money to fund his mystery potion. He’s motivated by his own life, which is one of the greatest motivators out there. If he doesn’t figure out this potion, he’s going to die. It’s already progressed so far he can hardly brew. Even you can’t deny that, Kaden.”

Kaden nodded. “I’ve been doing all his brewing since term started. He just tells me what to do.”

“Right. Anyway, someone is providing the Apothecary in Knockturn Alley with Polyjuice. Stuart Boone told us that’s where he bought his, so someone is making it for them. Professor Burke is brewing Polyjuice. We all saw it last year. You can’t deny that.”

“No,” Kaden muttered. “But there’s no proof he’s selling it!”

“He all but admitted it last year,” Rose said. “True, we don’t know he’s selling it to that specific apothecary, but he’s selling it.”

“And now he’s having us brew it in class,” Albus continued. “All of us. He’s called it a contest, but he was vague on the prize. Slughorn always made the prize a bar of chocolate or something. But I think he’s trying to figure out which one of us brews it best, so he can have one of us brew it for him, since he’s now so ill he can hardly brew.”

Rose gasped, her eyes huge. “Oh my God, Albus. That’s why you told me not to do my best!”

Albus nodded. “Unless you want to brew Polyjuice so Burke can brew it illegally.”

“But that isn’t right!” Amanda said. “We have to go to the headmaster!”

“No!” Matt and Kaden shouted at the same time.

“He’d be sacked!” Kaden said. “You can’t get him sacked! He’s too brilliant.”

“Kaden’s right,” Matt said quietly. “You can’t get him sacked. He’s the only one who can brew my potion. There’s no other potion. If I can’t have that one…that’s the only one I’ve tried that works.”

Albus hadn’t thought of that. If Matt didn’t have his anxiety potion, would he be able to handle the internship, and even all his classes? Even with it he still had panic attacks and nightmares. Turning in Burke could mean condemning his best friend to live in fear until someone else came up with a similar potion.

“What about your sister?” Amanda asked. “Can’t she brew it?”

“Burke is still tweaking it,” Matt said.

“Burke doesn’t let anyone have his recipes until he’s satisfied the potions are as perfect as they can be,” Kaden explained. “It’s one of his things.”

“Once he thinks it works as well as it’ll work, he’ll give her the recipe,” Matt said. “So you can’t tell Kendrick until he’s done fixing it.”

“What if someone else tells?” John said. “If none of you win his contest, someone else will be brewing it for him.”

Albus hadn’t thought that far. He didn’t know anyone else in the class well enough to know they wouldn’t tell, and even if he did, why wouldn’t they? If Albus was right, and Burke did plan to have one of his students brew his illegal Polyjuice, that would be wrong, and very, very illegal.

“One of you has to win,” Matt said quietly. “Please. Even if there’s a chance Albus is right, one of you has to win. Rose, it’s got to be you.”

Albus nodded. “You’re the only one who could brew it well enough to beat the Ravenclaws. And even Malfoy is a better brewer than me.”

“Or me,” Amanda said.

“Oh, God,” Matt said, his face paling. “Don’t let it be Malfoy. Please, Rose.”

“But you already screwed it up, didn’t you?” Albus asked, remembering the warning he gave her.

Rose blushed. “No, no I didn’t. And you don’t have to beg me, Matt. I already did my best on the first part. You know me better than that, Al. There’s no way I’d purposely brew something poorly.”

Albus smirked. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

“What about after he gives Amy the recipe?” Amanda asked. “Then can we turn him in?”

Matt shrugged. “Sure.”

“No!” Kaden said. “Please. Why is my not wanting you to turn him in any different than Matt not wanting to turn him in?”

“Because your well-being doesn’t depend on one of Burke’s potions,” Rose explained.

“But my professional life does!” Kaden argued.

“There are other brilliant brewers out there,” Amanda said.

“Not like Burke.”

“Can we deal with that if it comes to it?” Albus asked. “We don’t even know for sure I’m right.”

Everyone muttered in agreement. Albus didn’t want to be right. He didn’t want Rose to have to brew illegal Polyjuice for Burke. He didn’t want Matt’s potion dependent on such an ill man with lose morals. He didn’t want Kaden’s mentor to be taken away. But if Albus was right, Burke quite possibly could be sacked.

***

Gryffindor Quidditch trials were that Sunday, the first of all the houses. James wanted to do them early to maximize practice time before the first match, figuring plenty of people would sign up in just those few days. He was right. By the time James took down the sign-up sheet Sunday morning, it was full.

Sunday turned out to be bright and sunny, much to the team’s delight. There was nothing worse than having to run trials in the wind and rain, although it did tend to weed out those who weren’t serious about playing. Albus would still take that over the awful weather, though. Especially since he wasn’t captain and didn’t have to do as much work as James.

Matt accompanied Albus and John down to the pitch since Kaden was assisting Professor Burke and the girls were in the library doing homework. When they arrived there were huge crowds on both the pitch and in the stands. A group of giggling girls, who couldn’t have been older than fourth years, stood at the edge of the pitch watching James. Meg Johnson sat a few yards a way with a few other Ravenclaws, who kept glancing at the younger girls.

“Oi, Al!” James shouted. “Could you come over here?”

“I’ll see you after,” Albus said to Matt, who set off for the stands.

John followed Albus over to James, who stood with the rest of the team behind him. He looked incredibly overwhelmed by the turnout.

“Bloody hell,” James muttered, turning to Albus. “I didn’t think there’d be this many.”

“They aren’t all trying out,” Albus said, taking the sign-up sheet from John. “There are only about 10 people on the list. Including…Hugo?” Albus scanned the crowd and spotted his cousin toward the back, broom in hand, looking determined.

“All right!” James shouted. “If you aren’t trying out, clear off! Hit the stands, or go back to the castle, or just…go somewhere else!”

It took nearly ten minutes for everyone to leave the pitch, but when they finally did, the team was left with eleven Beater hopefuls, ranging from second years to seventh years.

“Hugo, no,” James said. “Aunt Hermione would murder me. And she won’t sign the consent form, so it’s not happening.”

“But-“ Hugo began.

“No, Hugo,” James and Albus said at the same time.

Hugo slunk off to the stands, looking dejected.

“I ought to tell Madam Pomfrey we just kept him from trying out,” Albus said. “She’ll love that I saved her work.”

James laughed. “Okay, you lot! I want everyone to fly around the pitch.”

Albus, James, and the rest of the team watched as the Beater hopefuls flew around the pitch. Albus had seen this tactic used by every single one of his Quidditch captains in years past, and it always weeded out at least a third of the people trying out. It was amazing how many people tried out for Quidditch who couldn’t fly.

James cut four people with just two laps around the pitch. The remaining were John, two third years, and two fourth years. They stood in front of the team, all of them looking nervous except for John.

“Madam Pomfrey won’t like us so much after this,” James muttered. “Beater try-outs are always the most dangerous.”

Albus had never been present for Beater try-outs since both Ryan and Bradley had been on the team since Albus’s first year or before. James must’ve asked Georgia about it, though, because he had a grim look on his face.

“I’m going to release the Bludgers so I can see what you do with them. The rest of us will fly around, and you need to keep them from hitting us. I’d like you to aim them toward the goal posts, so I can see your aim. Two at a time. Who’s first?”

John and one of the fourth years volunteered. James released the Bludgers and everyone flew into the air. Albus tried to stay out of everyone’s way, while keeping an eye on the Bludgers. He trusted John, but had no idea how the fourth year was with Beating.

As it turned out, he didn’t do so well. Janie nearly got nailed with a Bludger after the fourth year (whose name Albus thought was Pat) missed it. John managed to keep it away from her. James winced and only let play go on for another few minutes, until Pat accidentally hit Harrison with his Beater’s bat, sending Harrison to the hospital wing accompanied by Meg Johnson.

“Next,” he said once they’d landed.

They went through the process again with the next three Beater hopefuls. John had a second turn in order for the last person to have a fair shot working with a second Beater. After they finished, James sent the five over to the stands so the team could talk it out.

“John’s a given,” James said. “Janie would’ve been in the hospital wing had it not been for him. What do you think of the rest?”

“Not Pat,” Niamh said. “The other three aren’t bad. I’d vote for Grace, just because she’s a girl and I think we need another girl on the team.”

“Hey,” Albus said. “Sam and Thomas are both good. I mean, not nearly up to Bradley and Ryan’s skills, but not awful.”

“I like Grace, too, Al,” James said. “She’s only a third year, and the rest of us are all older. If we don’t pick someone younger Gryffindor will be stuck with a brand new team in a few years.”

“But she’s tiny,” Janie argued.

“So are you,” Niamh said. “But you’ve got a point. Beaters are usually solid. Like John.”

“I like that she’s small,” James said. “She’s fast. Slytherin’s Beater, Devon Wright, is tiny and she landed me in the hospital wing when she joined the team.”

“Fair point,” Niamh conceded.

“Good. John and Grace it is,” James said.

James called the five hopefuls over and delivered the good news to John and Grace and the bad news to the rest. They looked disappointed, but not overly so.

The crowd dwindled and James decided to hold an informal practice. As Albus kicked off from the ground, Quaffle in hand, he felt like term had officially started. Quidditch was back, and the team felt solid, despite the two new players. After playing Quidditch with John all summer, it was like he’d already been a part of the team.

10. Thestrals

Unsurprisingly, Albus’s smallest class of the year was Care of Magical Creatures. It consisted of himself, Matt, John, Justin Brink from Ravenclaw, and Emily Rhodes from Ravenclaw. Originally, Albus hadn’t planned on taking the N.E.W.T. Care of Magical Creatures class, but he knew Matt wanted to take it and wasn’t sure there would be enough people wanting to take it for the class to be offered. It never required much work, anyway.

Hagrid was thrilled to have a N.E.W.T. class to teach, as there hadn’t been enough demand for one in years. Even Stanley, Albus’s cousin who was working with dragons, never took the N.E.W.T. class because he was the only one in his year who had wanted to continue with it. Albus was slightly apprehensive about what sort of creatures Hagrid would show them as N.E.W.T. students, since the ones he taught at the O.W.L. level bordered on dangerous. But Albus did know that Hagrid had changed his curricula since he first started teaching, and they weren’t in any real danger.

“I’ve got some real excitin’ creatures for you this year,” Hagrid said as they stood at the edge of the forest on the first day of class. He had half a dead cow slumped over his shoulder, and blood steadily dripped from it onto the ground. Justin was staring at it, a disgusted look on his face.

“My brother told me we’d get to see a dragon!” Emily Rhodes said, her face bright.

Hagrid laughed. “Your brother was messin’ with you. There aren’ any dragons in Britain. But I am talking to the headmaster abou’ taking you to the hippogriff reserve in Ireland for a weekend. You’ll love that.”

Albus turned to Matt and John and shrugged his shoulders. They’d never gone on any sort of trip with a class before. Was that the sort of thing they’d get to do as N.E.W.T. students? None of his cousins had ever mentioned field trips before.

“Today, I’ve got a really interestin’ creature to show you,” Hagrid said. “Follow me.”

Hagrid led them into the forest. Albus hadn’t been in the forest since last year, when he collected fluxweed with Professor Burke, something he never wanted to repeat. When he told his friends about Burke assigning the sixth years Polyjuice, he purposely left out the part about Malfoy and Limbert going to collect fluxweed during the full moon. He didn’t think Matt needed to know about it.

Hagrid stopped in a small clearing and dropped the cow on the ground. He stepped back, and gestured for the students to do the same. Albus had a feeling they were waiting for thestrals, but with Hagrid, one never knew.

No one spoke while they waited. It didn’t take long for the meat to start disappearing, cluing Albus into the fact that Hagrid did intend to show them thestrals. Well, he couldn’t “show” them thestrals, unless they’d seen death. Albus hadn’t, and judging from the gasps of his classmates, none of them had, either. The only one who hadn’t gasped was Matt, and Albus assumed his dad must’ve told him about thestrals.

“Anyone know what we’re looking at?” Hagrid asked.

“Thestrals,” Matt answered.

“Are they invisible?” John asked.

Hagrid nodded. “Thestrals can only be seen by people who have seen death.”

Emily’s eyes grew wide. “So…if you see someone die, you can see thestrals? Just like that?”

“Yes,” Hagrid said. “Can anyone here see them?”

No one raised their hands. Hagrid nodded, apparently satisfied. “Good. There was a time when at least one person per class could…I’m glad those days are gone. Anyway, who wants to come meet one?”

Justin looked horrified at the very thought. John and Emily averted their gazes. Albus wasn’t too sure himself, as he liked to be able to see a creature he was meeting. Matt, however, raised his hand. Hagrid looked delighted.

“Excellent. Matt, come here,” he said.

Matt stepped forward, with much more confidence than Albus had ever seen in him before. Hagrid pointed out where the thestral was, and guided Matt’s hand toward it, but Matt seemed to know where the thestral was even without help. But he couldn’t see them. He hadn’t raised his hand, and as far as Albus knew, he’d never seen anyone snuff it.

The meat disappeared completely while Matt was petting the thestral. It looked extremely odd to Albus, as if Matt was just petting the thin air.

“The herd has grown a lot over the years,” Hagrid said. “Thestrals are wonderful creatures, although most people don’ like them because they think they cause death. They can carry heavy loads and have an amazin’ sense of direction. Never get lost if you’ve got a thestral with you. These thestrals don’ get much work. They pull the school carriages and that’s abou’ it. Anyone else wan’ to pet one?”

Emily Rhodes tentatively raised her hand. Hagrid eagerly summoned her forward and directed her to a thestral a few feet away from Matt. She was much more clumsy about finding the thestral and required a lot of help from Hagrid, but she had a big grin on her face.

“This is so bizarre!” she exclaimed. “Oh! Where’d he go?”

“They’re leavin’ because the meat’s gone,” Hagrid explained.

“Mine’s gone, too,” Matt said.

“Time’s up anyway,” Hagrid said as he began leading them out of the forest. “They never stick around long after they finish eating.”

Albus, Matt, and John broke apart from the group once they left the forest, letting Justin and Emily go ahead of them. It was a nice day and lunch was still fifteen minutes away, so they could take their time.

“Weird, aren’t they?” Albus said.

“Weird sounds about right,” John replied.

“Thestrals? Yeah, but they’re cool,” Matt said.

“You did a lot better with knowing where yours was than Emily,” Albus said.

“That’s because I can see them,” Matt said quietly.

“You’ve seen someone die?” Albus asked, stopping in his tracks. “But you didn’t raise your hand when Hagrid asked.”

“I’ve never seen anyone die,” Matt said. “I can see them because of what I am.”

“Hagrid never said-“

“Well, he wouldn’t, would he,” Matt interrupted. “It’s not really common knowledge. People can only see thestrals if they’ve seen death, but all magical creatures can see them. As soon as someone becomes a werewolf, they can see thestrals. It took a long time for researchers to figure that out, since most werewolves have seen death anyway.”

“That’s why you didn’t raise your hand. You didn’t want anyone to know,” Albus said.

Matt nodded. “I could’ve pretended I’d seen someone snuff it, but it’s just easier this way.”

“So when we take the carriages up to the school…” John began

“I can see them,” Matt said. “Just like anyone who’s seen death.”

“That’s mad,” Albus said.

“I wonder who Hagrid saw die,” Matt replied. “Has he ever mentioned it?”

“No. Hagrid doesn’t like to talk about the past. Do you think ghosts can see thestrals?”

“Probably. They’ve seen themselves die,” John said.

“Matt should go ask Myrtle,” Albus said, smirking.

Matt turned bright red. “I’d rather it remain a mystery.”

***

The first full week of term went by fast. Between Quidditch practice (which James decided would be held three times a week), prefect patrolling, and tutoring, Albus didn’t have any free nights. He wasn’t sure how he’d fit in his internship and dueling, once they started up. The sixth years spent every morning eagerly awaiting the post owls, hoping their internship decisions would arrive, but it wasn’t until Saturday that the flurry of school owls, letters addressed to each sixth year (and some of the seventh years), packed the Great Hall.

“I think this is it!” Rose said as she carefully opened her envelope. “Hey, did James ever decide whether to do one or not?”

Albus untied his letter and turned to Rose as the owl flew off. “He’s not doing one. He told me his time would be better spent practicing Quidditch. Dad wasn’t pleased.”

Albus ripped open his envelope and unfolded the letter to read it.

Robert J. Johnson
Head Auror
Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Ministry of Magic
London, England
United Kingdom

Dear Mr. Potter,

It is my pleasure to accept you into the Auror Department’s
internship program. You will report to the Ministry of
Magic on Mondays and Fridays from three o’clock until
five o’clock in the afternoon, beginning on October fourth.
Please wait in the Atrium for someone to collect you.

Sincerely,
Robert Johnson

“Auror Department!” Albus exclaimed. He never had any doubt he’d get it, but it still felt extremely gratifying for it to be official.

“Nice,” Rose said. “I got one with Healer Norlam.”

“I got the International Confederation of Wizards!” Amanda said, her face glowing. “I wasn’t sure…they sounded like they’d be really picky. But I got it!”

“Of course you did,” Rose said. “John?”

“Puddlemere United,” John said. “I’m going to get to meet the team! This is brilliant!”

“Maybe they’ll have you doing their laundry,” Kaden said, laughing. “Cleaning all their dirty robes.”

John looked so excited he probably wouldn’t care if that was exactly what he’d be doing for Puddlemere.

“Matt?” Albus prompted. “What’d you get?”

Matt was still holding his unopened envelope, staring at it. “Not here. Let’s go upstairs.”

Without waiting for everyone else to finish eating, Matt got up and hurried out of the room. Albus ran after him, the other four behind him. They caught up to Matt on the second floor.

“My mum will let you switch,” Rose said. “I know she will. Or she’ll bend the rules and let you do one with your dad.”

“And what will Malfoy say to that?” Matt replied. “No. No one can know I’m getting special treatment. I’m sure my dad’s already got an intern, anyway. I wonder who it is.”

“Maybe you got one of the ones you picked,” Amanda said. “The rest of us all got our top picks.”

“I don’t have that kind of luck,” Matt muttered. “Gringotts was probably one of the more popular ones.”

Albus didn’t say anything because Matt was right. Everyone wanted Gringotts because it dealt with money and goblins. Matt was also right about the luck thing; he really did have the worst luck in the world.

Once they arrived at the Marauders’ Den and shut the door, Matt tentatively opened his envelope. His hands shook as he pulled the letter out, but a look of relief washed over his face once he’d read it.

“Is it Gringotts?” Rose asked.

Matt shook his head. “Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, with your grandfather.”

Rose laughed, which caused Albus to start laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Matt asked.

“You’re just…going to have a lot of fun,” Albus said. “Granddad likes Muggles. He likes Muggles a lot.”

“The only things he likes more than Muggles are things Muggles use instead of magic. He’s particularly fascinated by electricity,” Rose added.

“Once you tell him your grandparents are Muggles, he’ll bombard you with questions about them, and probably want to meet them,” Albus said.

Matt laughed. “This is good. If he’s your granddad….”

“He won’t have any issues with your lycanthropy,” Albus said. “And it’s just him in the department.”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, that’s better than Gringotts, I think. When do you go to the Auror Department?”

“Monday and Friday afternoons,” Albus said. “At three.”

“That’s when mine is,” Matt said. “We can go to the Ministry together.”

“I bet a lot of people’s are at that time,” Amanda said. “Mine is, too.”

“Same with mine, but I’m not going to the Ministry,” John said.

“What about you, Rose?” Albus asked.

Rose had wandered to the other side of the room and had her nose in the Prophet, which she must’ve swiped from the table before they left.

“Rose?” Albus repeated.

“What?” Rose asked, lifting her head up. She looked worried.

“Your internship. What time is it?” Albus asked, walking over to her.

“Monday and Friday afternoons,” she said, turning back to the paper.

“What’s in there?” Albus asked, snatching it out of her hands. He smoothed the paper and gasped when he saw the front page headline. Matt, John, Amanda, and Kaden hurried over to attempt reading over Albus’s shoulder.

BOONE ARRESTED FOR HOGSMEADE MURDER

Stuart Boone, 26, was arrested yesterday for the murder of Michael Sheldon
last December. In June, Boone was convicted of trespassing, identity
theft, and possession of illegal substances. No bail was set, since Boone
is currently serving his term for the previous offenses. Boone will reside
in Azkaban until and during his trial, and will serve his term for
previous offenses regardless of the outcome of the new trial.

A trial date is expected to be announced on Monday. When asked about
the arrest, Head Auror Robert Johnson said, “We are confident we
have the right man this time. We had the evidence to arrest him
and believe we have the evidence to convict him, but it’s out of our
hands now. It’s up to the solicitors and the Wizengamot.”

“Are they serious?” Albus exclaimed. “How can they possibly have the evidence?”

“What happened?” Matt asked. “I can’t see past John’s big head.”

Albus wordlessly handed Matt the paper and waited for him to finish reading. When he did, he walked over to the couch, sat down, and put his head between his knees for a few seconds. Albus and Rose sat down on either side of him, while Amanda and Kaden took the armchairs.

“This is bad,” Matt whispered. “This is so bad on so many different levels. This…this is like something the Australian Ministry would do.”

“But they can’t!” Amanda said indignantly. “Boone couldn’t have sliced anyone’s throat! It wouldn’t have been physically possible!”

“Could he have done it if he Stunned Sheldon first?” John asked, looking at Matt.

Matt shook his head. “I don’t think so. He could barely hold his wand. No way he could’ve been quick enough to Stun anyone.”

“But he was Young, wasn’t he?” John asked. “He was Polyjuiced, so his hands would’ve been like Young’s, wouldn’t they?”

“Polyjuice can’t overcome damage brought on by lycanthropy,” Matt explained. “If it could, it’d be a great way to get around full moon injuries. Even under Polyjuice, he’d still have any physical disabilities he has as himself.”

“That means they just want Boone to be their new scapegoat,” Rose said.

“Of course it does,” Amanda replied. “And because of all the stereotypes about werewolves, everyone’s going to believe he figured out some way to do it anyway.”

“Isn’t the Wizengamot supposed to be free of prejudices?” Albus asked.

Matt snorted. “The Wizengamot is mostly old, white, pureblood men, none of who have lycanthropy. Of course they’re prejudiced. The whole fiasco with Young proved they’ll just do what Laurentis wants them to.”

“Not necessarily,” Rose said. “Yes, they are mostly purebloods and I’m sure a good portion of them can’t see past their prejudices, but I don’t think they’ll be so eager to do whatever Laurentis wants this time. After Young’s conviction got overturned, who looked like an idiot? Not Laurentis, because the decision to convict him was the Wizengamot’s. They’re the ones who looked like idiots.”

“But their prejudices might make it impossible for them to see the truth,” Matt said. “And if Boone is convicted, this is going to set werewolf rights back decades. All it takes is one werewolf doing one bad thing, or getting convicted of doing one bad thing, and a lot of people will believe we’re all bad.”

“It’s not right,” Amanda said. “What about your dad?”

“He doesn’t have any say in who gets arrested and who doesn’t,” Matt said, “but he’s going to be livid. Probably already is.”

“What can he do?” Kaden asked.

“Same thing he did when Boone was on trial for trespassing and identity theft, although that was different because Boone really did commit those crimes. Dad can find him a good attorney and work with him to make sure the few rights Boone has aren’t violated. And help with the testimony about Boone’s hands. Dad will probably have to testify.”

“But what evidence do they have?” John said. “Just that Boone was near the scene of the crime?”

“And those hairs from Young,” Matt added. “And that Boone had been living in the Shrieking Shack, right where the body was found.”

Albus suddenly remembered what Elsie had told them when he found her at the scene. “Elsie,” he whispered. “It was Elsie’s testimony. The same testimony that got Young convicted. I’d forgotten until now. Remember, what she told us that day? She saw a man dragging the body.”

“I’d forgotten about that,” Rose said. “But you’re right.”

“She never said it was Young that day, did she?” John said.

“No, she didn’t,” Albus said.

“But Boone never mentioned dragging a body,” Matt pointed out.

“You think Elsie was lying? Do you believe Boone?” Albus asked.

“I don’t know. Everything else he told us was true. Why would he drag the body?”

“I don’t know,” Albus said quietly. “But I don’t know why Elsie would lie.”

“I don’t think she was,” Rose said. “I think she did see someone drag the body. I just don’t know if that person was Professor Young. Maybe there were three men at the Shack that day. Sheldon, Boone Polyjuiced as Young, and a third man.”

“But why would Elsie omit the third person?” John asked. “That doesn’t make sense, either.”

Albus wished Elsie wasn’t so quiet and closed off from everyone except her brother. He wished she’d talk during tutoring sessions. He wished she had a friend he could talk to to try and figure out what was going on, someone other than her brother. But she didn’t interact with anyone except Felix, and the Slytherin Quidditch team now that she was on it.

“There’s something weird about that girl,” Kaden said. “She and her brother are just too secretive about everything. Why doesn’t she ever talk to anyone except him? It’s weird. I’ve hardly seen Bethany at all since she started and that’s fine with me. And I haven’t seen Albus or John purposefully spending loads of time with their sisters.”

“I agree,” John said. “No sane bloke spends that much time hanging out with his little sister unless they’ve got something to hide.”

“I hardly ever see Hugo,” Rose added. “Just when I have to yell at him in Mum’s place, like when he tried to go to Quidditch trials.”

“It’s not that strange,” Matt argued. “That’s what Amy and I were like when I was a first year.”

“That was different,” Albus said. “You at least talked to us.”

“Not about anything important, until you figured out about my lycanthropy.”

“Exactly,” John said. “You had a reason to be that close to Amy and why she was so protective. What reason does Felix have to be protective of Elsie? She’s not a werewolf.”

“Maybe she’s got something else going on,” Matt said. “Maybe she has anxiety issues, like I do. I don’t really talk to anyone outside of you lot, and I really don’t want to.”

Albus hadn’t thought of that. He always saw Matt’s anxiety as a direct result of his lycanthropy, and it didn’t cross his mind that someone could have similar issues without having lycanthropy. But even though Matt’s anxiety probably did stem from his lycanthropy, that didn’t mean someone couldn’t have anxiety without having lycanthropy first. And maybe Elsie did have it, and that’s why she stuck so close to her brother, and why her brother was so overprotective.

“Think about it,” Matt continued, “if you weren’t friends with me, you’d probably think I was pretty weird. If you didn’t know about my anxiety and lycanthropy, you’d think it was odd if I left class randomly or had a panic attack in the middle of the Entrance Hall or got inexplicably anxious about having to do an internship.”

“I wouldn’t-“ John began.

“You would,” Matt said. “So don’t assume Elsie and her brother are hiding anything weird without proof. I know Felix is kind of awful, but maybe he’s just trying to protect Elsie, the way Amy did for me in first year.”

“The other day in Potions Felix put a slug down the back of Natalie Renfield’s robes,” Kaden announced. “I don’t care how nice he is to his sister, I don’t like him.”

“What we need is to ask someone about Elsie who isn’t Felix,” John said. “Al and Rose, do you have cousins in third year?”

Albus laughed. “Of course. Just one, though. Angie. I’m sure she’s got classes with Elsie.”

“Excellent,” John said. “We’ll talk to Angie.”

Matt sighed and Albus knew he didn’t think much of this plan. Albus wasn’t sure. He was inclined to agree with John that Elsie and Felix were hiding something, and had been ever since they first got to Hogwarts. But at the same time, their behavior was very similar to that of Matt and Amy, and all they were hiding was Matt’s lycanthropy. Maybe talking to Angie would tip him to one side or the other.