Albus Potter and the Lost Legacy

Chapter 21: Uproar

Albus let out a gasp, as did everyone else in the room. The Great Hall was suddenly in chaos. Everyone was whispering and a few people had let out cries of outrage or excitement. Albus could practically hear the reporters' quills scratching across rolls of parchment, and Laurentis was grinning again. Percy stood behind his podium, his mouth seeming to be frozen in a wide, gaping position. Farleigh was attempting to gain order, and failing.

“That is literally insane!” Rose exclaimed. “Reinstate the dementors? Is she mad? Is she throwing the election?”

“I don't know,” Albus said. “But she must be mad. Will people actually approve of this? Will she even be able to do it?”

Rose nodded. “Whoever she gets to replace herself as Head of Azkaban will surely want the dementors back, too. Then she'll approve it as Minister and it'll pass.”

“But it would be stupid to bring them back,” Albus said.

“It would,” Rose agreed. “They're dangerous and their allegiance changes so easily. But to be honest, I'm not sure everyone will feel that way. Not with those prisoners on the loose.”

“Quiet, quiet!” Professor Kendrick shouted. The crowd finally settled down.

“Mr. Weasley, it is your turn to speak,” Farleigh said exasperatingly.

Percy shook his head to regain his composure. He'd lost his cool, calm, and collected politician look and now he looked more like he did after arguing with Georgia about her Quidditch career.

“Well, I, er, do not believe that dementors are the answer to the security problems in Azkaban,” Percy said. “What we need are more skilled guards in charge of high security prisoners as well as a revamp of the spells and enchantments currently keeping prisoners inside. It will also help to go over the organization of the guard schedule because at the time of the escape, only three guards were maintaining that part of the prison. That was surely an oversight that could have been prevented.”

“Human error,” Laurentis said. “It happens and it will happen again. Can we really risk the lives of our children in the chance that another error will occur? Dementors were proven guards who did not allow prisoners to escape. During their reign in Azkaban, before their allegiance changed, only one person managed to escape. Since their removal we have had numerous escapes.”

“Clear evidence that we need to revamp prison security,” Percy said. “But dementors are not the answer. They are dangerous creatures and as you said, their allegiance changed. What's to say that won't happen again if, God forbid, another Voldemort were to rise to power? If anyone offered those dementors a better deal than we did they'd have a whole prison of dangerous criminals at their disposal to do their bidding. It's not worth the risk.”

“Another Voldemort is not going to rise to power,” Laurentis said with a laugh. “We have learned from our history and it won't happen again.”

“You can't guarantee that,” Percy said. “Even if there is a very small chance of it happening, it is not worth risking having dementors guard Azkaban.”

“Mr. Weasley, Ms. Laurentis,” Farleigh said. “It is time to move on-”

“You are talking about a hypothetical!” Laurentis exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. “I am talking about what is happening now! Five dangerous criminals have escaped, four of whom were on Voldemort's side during the war, and are out there, wreaking havoc as we speak. If the dementors were guarding Azkaban this never would have happened.”

“Now look who's talking hypotheticals!” Percy shouted back, ignoring Farleigh's vain attempts to get both candidates to stop talking. “For all we know they would've escaped anyway!”

Laurentis let out a deep laugh. “Five prisoners escape when the dementors are allied with the Ministry? That's laughable. Only one person was able to do that and it was because he was an Animagus. None of the prisoners are Animagi. We test for that before admitting anyone to the prison.”

“Be that as it may, dementors are dangerous magical creatures. Not to mention the ethics of subjecting prisoners to their effects-”

“Prisoners have no rights,” Laurentis said. “They give up their rights when they commit crimes-”

“Basic human rights!” Percy exclaimed. “There are basic human rights that everyone deserves! Talk about learning from our history. History tells us what happens when someone believes they are above others. Or do you not remember the reign of Voldemort?”

“I lost my mother to that war!” Laurentis said. “Don't you tell me that I don't remember it.”

Albus was on the edge of his seat. His uncle was so red in the face that he was starting to turn purple and resemble Kaden's grandfather. Laurentis's hair was breaking free from its tight bun and there was a vein popping out in her forehead. Farleigh was still trying to get both candidates to stop talking and failing miserably, while every other person in the Great Hall sat completely still, staring at Percy and Laurentis.

“Silence!” Professor Kendrick shouted in a magically amplified voice.

Both Percy and Laurentis immediately quieted. The vein on Laurentis's forehead continued to throb, and Percy still looked like an overripe tomato.

“I think we've run out of time,” Farleigh said, in a voice barely more than a squeak. “Thank you all for coming.”

“Students, please return to your common rooms,” Kendrick announced. “Lunch will be in an hour. As a reminder, there is no question and answer session today.”

The whispering rose up immediately after Kendrick stopped speaking and since everyone was whispering the noise level rose very high. Albus, Rose, and Amanda joined the queue of people ambling to leave the Great Hall, and without even talking about it, went immediately to the Marauder's Den, where they found John and Kaden.

“What the bloody hell is she trying to do?” John asked as soon as Albus shut the door.

“She's lost her mind!” Rose shouted as she began pacing around the room. “She has legitimately lost her mind. That's the only explanation.”

“Well there's no way she'll win now,” Albus pointed out. “Dementors?”

“It's a bit convenient, don't you think?” Rose asked. “This break-out happens and then she announces she wants the dementors back? It didn't sound like a plan she'd just come up with.”

“We've got to find out if she's tried to get them back before,” Albus said. “If she has it'll be in the Prophet tomorrow.”

“Dementors...” Kaden murmured. “They're what sucked all the happiness out of us when we were in Australia last year, right?”

Albus nodded. “They're awful creatures.”

“And they used to guard the prison?” Amanda asked incredulously. “That's just wrong.”

“It is,” Rose said darkly. “That's why after Voldemort they stopped using them as guards. That and all the dementors changed allegiance and let Death Eaters escape.”

“Would they even come back, though?” Kaden asked. “I mean, if they switched allegiance so easily....”

“They'll go wherever they're offered the most humans to feed off of.” Rose shuddered. “Voldemort offered them far more than even Azkaban could offer. But right now they don't have a good source. They just travel around, feeding. They'll guard if given the opportunity.”

“Shouldn't people be against it?” Amanda asked. “It's so ethically wrong.”

“That's why it was dumb of her to announce it,” Albus pointed out.

“She wouldn't announce anything if she didn't think it would get her votes,” Rose said. “Most people our parents' age and older, who lost loved ones in the war, will have absolutely no sympathy for Death Eaters and wouldn't care if the dementors were brought back, especially if Laurentis could then guarantee no one would escape.”

Albus hadn't thought of that and apparently no one else did, either, because the room grew quiet. Albus sank onto one of the couches and started counting the number of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans that were scattered on the floor. He got to twenty-three before anyone said anything.

“I wonder what Malfoy thinks of all this,” John mused. “Wasn't his dad a Death Eater? So he shouldn't want the dementors back in Azkaban, but the way he was talking in the Three Broomsticks a while back made it seem like he's very against your uncle.”

“Of course he's against my uncle,” Albus said. “His whole family dislikes my whole family and it goes the other way, too. But his dad was never found guilty of his crimes so he never did time in Azkaban.”

“Surely his dad's got friends there,” John said.

Albus shrugged. “Probably.” To be honest, he didn't really care what Malfoy thought about Laurentis and Uncle Percy.

“We should go to lunch and then visit Matt,” Rose said. “Catch him up on all this.”

Albus had completely forgotten that Matt was still in the hospital wing, in the midst of Laurentis's announcement. He felt vaguely guilty about it, but at least Rose had remembered.

Everyone gathered for lunch in the Great Hall was talking about Laurentis's desire to bring back the dementors. Percy, Laurentis, and the Ministry officials were still there, having lunch with the professors at the staff table, and all were deep in discussion. Albus would've loved to be able to listen in on their conversations, but wearing the Invisibility Cloak in the crowded Great Hall wasn't a good idea.

“Better get used to the idea of your dad being Minister,” one of the seventh years was saying to Bradley. “No one's going to vote for Laurentis now.”

Bradley muttered something under his breath that Albus couldn't hear. Albus took a seat a few people down from his cousin and began to make a sandwich.

“She's got my whole family's votes now,” one of the other seventh years said. “Both of my grandparents were killed by Fenrir Greyback. If the dementors will catch him and keep him in there forever, it'd make all of us sleep better.”

There were a few nods from other older students sitting nearby. Albus was slightly shocked. If this many students approved of her idea, a lot of adults probably did, too. And these were seventh years; they could vote.

“Wait, the dementors find criminals, too?” Kaden asked. “I thought that's what Aurors did.”

“Only the really awful escaped prisoners,” Albus said. “My dad's Godfather, Sirius, when he escaped, the dementors were given permission to give him the Dementor's Kiss if they caught him.”

“What's the Dementor's Kiss?” Amanda asked.

Albus shuddered. “It's where they suck out someone's soul.”

“And they die?” Amanda asked quietly.

Albus shook his head. “No, they live without a soul. Everyone says it's worse than dying.”

“And they were going to do that to Sirius?” Kaden replied.

Albus nodded. “He was the first to escape Azkaban. He's the one Laurentis was talking about and at the time everyone thought he murdered thirteen Muggles and gave my grandparents up to Voldemort.”

“That's absolutely horrible!” Amanda exclaimed. She turned to the few sixth and seventh years who had said they'd vote for Laurentis. “How can you wish that on someone?”

“If your grandparents were murdered by Death Eaters you would, too,” one of the girls snapped.

“Albus's grandparents were murdered by Voldemort and he doesn't want the dementors back at Azkaban,” Amanda pointed out.

“Well, Voldemort's dead,” the girl said. “Maybe if Greyback were dead I'd feel differently. But he's not so I want the dementors back.”

“I don't think she's going to lose as easily as we thought,” Amanda said quietly.

“Of course she's not,” Rose said. “This is probably better for votes than digging up dirt on Uncle Percy.”

“It's absolutely barbaric,” Amanda said, shoving her plate forward. “Sucking out someone's soul? And they just suck your happy memories out?”

“Yeah,” Albus answered, thinking back to the previous June. He shuddered. “You're forced to relive your worst memories.”

“That's all you can think about?” Amanda asked. “Just the bad ones?”

Albus nodded. “My dad said it makes you go mad after a while.”

“Of course it does!” Amanda shouted. “That's just not right! Are you lot done eating yet? I can't sit here anymore.”

Albus was surprised Amanda had had such a strong reaction to the dementors, but he supposed coming from the Muggle world, where she hadn't even known such creatures existed, it would be a bit of a shock. He was even more surprised that she'd nearly gotten into a shouting match with a seventh year over them, when she was normally so quiet.

“I'm done,” Rose said.

“Me, too,” Albus said as he got up.

John and Kaden each grabbed the remaining halves of their sandwiches and followed the others out of the Great Hall. Amanda lead the way, stomping her feet a bit more forcefully than was necessary.

“It's just wrong on so many levels!” she said as she led them to the Hospital Wing. “It's torture, honestly. That's what it is. Emotional torture. Can't they just be killed off or something?”

“They don't die,” Rose said. “They can't. They just sort of...exist. Once my mum gets word of this, well, she's not going to stay quiet.”

“And she shouldn't,” Amanda said. “Can she stop Laurentis?”

“Not if Laurentis is Minister,” Rose answered. “Right now Mum's the Senior Assistant of Magical Law Enforcement, so if Laurentis tried to get this to pass now, my mum could help stop it. But Minister Hartwell would never put something like this through.”

“They're foul creatures,” Amanda continued. “Having them guard anything or anyone is a terrible idea.”

Albus decided now would not be a good time to tell Amanda that when his dad was a third year Hogwarts was guarded by dementors.

“A dementor went after my dad once,” Kaden announced as they continued to the Hospital Wing. “Albus's dad saved him with a Patronus. Then he nearly got expelled for doing underage magic in the presence of a Muggle.”

“You're kidding,” Amanda said. “God, the Ministry really was screwed up when your parents were at Hogwarts. This is the sort of thing Embry should be using as examples.”

“I doubt it's a well-known fact,” Albus said. “That the famous Harry Potter nearly got expelled.”

“It's a serious example of injustice,” Amanda said.

“You sound just like my mum,” Rose said. “It's creepy. Doesn't she?”

Albus agreed. “You do sound just like her mum.”

“Your mum has the right idea,” Amanda said as they reached the Hospital Wing.

Matt was the only patient in the ward. The curtains weren't drawn around his bed and he was sitting up and eating a bowl of soup, which was a good sign. Madam Pomfrey was sitting at her desk, working on charts, and muttering to herself about something.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Albus asked when they got to his bed.

“Fine,” Matt said. “Three cracked ribs and a lot of nasty cuts, but I'm fine. Listen, I heard the debate. Madam Pomfrey had it on on the wireless. How insane is Laurentis?! You should have heard Madam Pomfrey ranting about her earlier.”

“You're not to repeat what you heard,” Madam Pomfrey said. “But Albus and Rose, you can tell your uncle that he's got my vote. Always thought he was a little pompous when he was at Hogwarts but at least he's not dumb enough to employ dementors as guards of Azkaban.”

“Amanda's on a rampage,” Albus said.

“It's kind of funny,” John added.

“It is not funny!” Amanda exclaimed. “It's serious.”

“It's just that you're so quiet, but you got into it with that seventh year.”

“I did not get into it with a seventh year!” Amanda shouted and turned to Matt. “John's exaggerating. She announced that she and her family were all going to vote for Laurentis because her grandparents were killed by Greyback and she wants to make sure he stays in prison.”

Matt toyed with his blanket and didn't meet Amanda's eye.

“What?” she asked. “Don't tell me you want the dementors in Azkaban.”

“I don't,” Matt said quickly. “It's not that. It's the whole Greyback thing, I can sort of see where she's coming from. It's got to be scary, knowing he's out there when he killed her grandparents.... I mean, I guess I've always been sort of lucky. The bloke who bit me is in prison and has been since he bit me.”

Albus had never heard Matt talk about the werewolf who bit him, except for mentioning that he's in prison.

“He gets out next year,” Matt said quietly. “He can get paroled.”

“Do you know much about him?” Albus asked.

“Just his name and how old he was,” Matt said. “My parents know a bit more but they've never told me and I've never asked.”

“Is the Australian prison guarded by dementors?” Amanda asked.

Matt shook his head. “No, and it never has been. And I don't think prisons should be guarded by dementors. But Greyback...he's scary. He's worse than Silas Humphrey, that was the bloke who bit me. Humphrey's attack on me, that was an accident. Greyback bit people on purpose. He'd bite people and then raise them in his pack. That's why he liked going for kids. Teddy's dad...Greyback bit him and tried to get his parents to give him up. They didn't, of course, but a lot of parents did.”

Albus swallowed hard. He hadn't known that about Teddy's dad and wasn't even sure if Teddy knew that. Teddy's dad's parents died long before Teddy was born and Albus doubted his grandmother knew that.

“How'd you find that out?” Albus asked.

“When we first moved here Amy learned about Teddy's dad when she was catching up on British History of Magic. She told me all about him and how successful he wound up being just to make me feel better. But then I decided to research other werewolves and found out about Greyback in one of my dad's books. It talked about his whole thing with biting kids. It never said Teddy's dad specifically was one of those kids but I figured he must've been.”

“That's horrible,” Albus said quietly. The others nodded.

“He had a whole pack of werewolves to do his bidding,” Matt said. “And now he's out. What if he wants to do that again?”

“Bite people and make a pack?” Albus asked.

Matt nodded. “That or find people who've already been bitten.”

Albus saw where this was going now. “He's not going to find you. Hogwarts is safe.”

“That's what everyone always says, but the past few years it really hasn't. Remember last year?”

“Technically we weren't in the castle when we got taken to Australia. We were in the Floo. So if we just stay in the castle...” Albus pointed out.

“It's still not a guarantee,” Matt said. “I wonder how many people he bit last night.”

Albus didn't answer. There was no way of knowing what Fenrir Greyback did during the full moon, just like there was no way to guarantee that Hogwarts would be safe. All Albus and his friends could do was hope that it would be safe and that the escaped Death Eaters would be recaptured soon. Albus still thought having dementors guard Azkaban was an absolutely terrible idea, but after listening to Matt talk about Silas Humphrey and Fenrir Greyback, he sort of understood why some people might want the dementors back at Azkaban and thus vote for Laurentis. She might even get elected just because of this. And that, when it came down to it, was what scared Albus the most.

Chapter 22: Canceled Match

“I guess Laurentis has been trying to get the dementors reinstated in Azkaban for years,” Albus said the following morning at breakfast, as he set down a copy of the Prophet.

The article on the debate had been a long one, taking up nearly the entire front page. It featured a photograph of Percy and Laurentis arguing with each other, and Albus was able to see his uncle's face turning steadily more purple, despite the fact that the picture was in black and white. The article that followed detailed Laurentis's apparently years-long campaign to bring the dementors back. She had put the proposition up for vote four times and it was shot down by Minister Hartwell each time.

“Of course he shot it down,” Rose said after skimming the article. “It's a stupid idea. Oh, look, they've quoted my mum. I'll read it. 'Hermione Weasley, Senior Assistant of Magical Law Enforcement, when asked about Laurentis's proposal, said, 'It's absolutely barbaric. Everybody, including prisoners, have basic human rights that cannot be broken. I thought we'd moved past the days when the Ministry sanctioned emotional abuse of its prisoners and the thought that a woman running for Minister is proposing this is quite frankly horrifying. It is my sincere hope that the people of wizarding Britain will think long and hard about the effects this will have, not only on prisoners, but on our society as well, before they cast their votes in April.''”

“Always one to speak her mind, your mum,” Albus said.

“I couldn't agree more,” Amanda replied. “Although if Laurentis wins I bet she gets sacked.”

“She can't,” Rose said. “Her job isn't appointed solely by the Minister. If she were head of the department, then yes, but she isn't head yet. It's confusing.”

“Good,” Amanda said. “We'll need some sane people in there if Laurentis is elected.”

“What are you lot doing today?” John asked, steering the conversation away from the election. “Kaden and I are going to spend the day plotting our new prank.”

“I don't want to know,” Rose said, holding up her hands. “I'm probably going to go to the library.”

“I'll go with you,” Amanda said. “I want to research dementors and their use in Azkaban.”

“Quidditch practice,” Albus replied. “All day. We've got to get ready for the match on Saturday against Ravenclaw. After the last match, we've got to make sure we we win by a decent amount of points if we're going to takeover Slytherin's place for the Cup.”

“Oh yeah,” Kaden said. “Whatever happened with that Olivia girl? She had a huge crush on James, didn't she?”

Albus laughed. “I've no idea.”

“She sent James a box of chocolates for Christmas,” Cedric, who had been sitting next to Albus, whispered. “But you didn't hear that from me.”

“I was there when he opened his presents,” Albus said.

“She gave them to him before we went home for the holiday,” Cedric explained. “She hijacked our thestral carriage and wound up riding to the train with us.”

“How awkward was that?” Albus asked, still giggling.

“Very,” Cedric said as he glanced over his shoulder. “She stared at him the whole time.”

“Creepy,” Albus said.

“Shh,” Cedric said. “He's coming over.”

“I think I'm going to go visit Matt before Quidditch practice,” Albus said. “I'll see you later?”

“Sure,” Rose said. “You know where to find me.”

“And us!” John announced. “Marauder's Den. Prank planning.”

“I don't want to be involved,” Albus said as he got up.

John shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Albus hurried up to the Hospital Wing and managed to get inside without Madam Pomfrey noticing, although the nurse wouldn't have minded him being there. But she was very preoccupied with two students who had somehow fused their left arms together. Matt was already awake and much cheerier than he had been the previous day, when talking about Greyback. He was pretty sure Madam Pomfrey was going to let him out that night, so they agreed to meet in the Marauder's Den just before dinner.

Quidditch practice went very well and Albus was fairly certain they would beat Ravenclaw on Saturday. No one mentioned the election or Laurentis's wanting to bring back the dementors, which was a sure sign that things were getting back to normal at Hogwarts. Albus spent the rest of the day in the Marauder's Den working on his homework with Matt while trying to avoid hearing any part of John and Kaden's new prank.

The week went by quickly since Albus spent every moment he wasn't in class on the Quidditch pitch. But the weather remained decent so it was enjoyable. The only day Albus wasn't on the pitch was Thursday, when he had dueling practice.

“When's the next tournament?” Amanda asked as she and Albus walked into the Transfiguration classroom, where they were were scheduled to practice. Heather was there to supervise, sitting in a corner. A few of the team members were there already, including Malfoy.

“Weekend after this one,” Albus said. “I think we'll do well.” Albus glanced over to Malfoy, expecting some sort of snarky comeback from him. But he wasn't even paying attention. Instead he was hunched over a long piece of parchment. “Wonder what he's doing?”

Amanda shrugged. “Last minute homework?”

Suddenly, Malfoy sat up straight and crumpled the piece of parchment. He shoved it into his pocket and stood up, staring at Albus as he did so. He looked sullen and averted his eyes after only a few seconds.

“I don't think that's homework,” Albus said.

“Weird,” Amanda said.

“Very,” Albus agreed. “Let's get started! I think we should practice blocking.” He took a sidelong glance at Malfoy, expecting him to scoff and claim that they already knew how to block, but instead Malfoy just turned to the student nearest to him and began to do as Albus said. What was even weirder was that the student he partnered with was a second year Hufflepuff. Albus blinked to make sure he wasn't seeing things and then began shooting spells at Amanda while she blocked them.

The practice session got stranger as the night went on, in terms of Malfoy's behavior. Not once did he second guess what Albus said and he didn't say one word to anyone that wasn't directly related to dueling. Heather raised her eyebrows at Albus on numerous occasions since she had supervised Albus's practices before and knew how much Malfoy usually tried to be the captain. He ran out of the room as soon as the practice was over, looking vaguely upset, as he had at the debate.

“That was the strangest thing ever,” Amanda said as she and Albus walked back to the Gryffindor common room. “And I witnessed my brother attempt to brew a potion this past summer and drink it, thinking that it would turn him into a wizard.”

Albus burst out laughing. “Was he really disappointed that he didn't get a Hogwarts letter?”

Amanda nodded. “I never thought he would but didn't tell him that. But do you have any idea why Malfoy didn't argue with you tonight?”

“I've no idea,” Albus said. “But I really hope he stays this way.”

“I bet it had something to do with whatever he was reading when we walked in.”

“I wonder what it was.”

Amanda shrugged. “No idea, but I wish I did. It's just so odd.”

“Whatever it is, I hope it keeps him like this during next week's tournament.”

“Albus! What if it's something really awful?” Amanda asked.

Albus hadn't thought about that. “Well, we don't know that it is, so I don't have to think about it.”

“Albus, I doubt anything good would make Malfoy shut up like that,” Amanda reasoned. “I'm just saying, it might be something awful.”

***

Gryffindor's tendency to play Quidditch during really bad weather came up in full force on Saturday, when the unseasonably warm temperatures decided to desert Hogwarts. In its place were freezing cold temperatures and a howling snow storm that probably should have resulted in the match being canceled. But since Hogwarts never canceled Quidditch, Albus was preparing himself for a miserable match. He wished they could have nice weather, like they had when they played Slytherin in November.

The last time Albus had played in a storm this bad he'd been in his second year and wound up in the hospital wing with the flu afterward. He certainly did not want a repeat of that so he was hoping that James would catch the Snitch sooner rather than later.

“Fred, this is crazy,” Ryan said as they stood in the doorway of the changing rooms, waiting for the match to begin. “There is literally no way to see the Snitch in this.”

“There's nothing I can do about it,” Fred snapped. Everyone could tell he was stressed about this match, since they'd lost to Slytherin. “We have to play unless Kendrick calls it off.”

Ryan was right. Albus stared out onto the pitch and all he saw was white. The snow was swirling and blowing and Albus couldn't tell if more snow was actually falling or if it was all just getting blown around. But either way, finding a Snitch in it was going to be near impossible.

“I'll catch it,” James said confidently. “Don't worry.”

“We're not going to be able to hear the commentary,” Fred said. “Just catch it as soon as you can. Don't worry about catching it after we're up a certain number of points. We just need a win at this point.”

There was a very dull, quiet roar of applause and Fred led the team out onto the pitch. The balls were released and Albus flew up into the raging storm. Soon, he didn't know which way was up or down, let alone where the Quaffle was. After about ten minutes of meandering around the pitch, not knowing where he was going, the Quaffle suddenly appeared. Albus caught it, but had no idea where the goal posts were.

Albus flew straight ahead, hoping it was in the right direction, but instead of reaching the goal posts, he reached the stands. Groaning, he turned and headed toward the goal posts. At least he now knew where they were. He managed to score, mostly because Ravenclaw's Keeper didn't see him.

The match continued in chaos, with no one knowing where anyone else was. Albus didn't see a single Bludger the whole time and assumed the Beaters were just trying to keep track of them rather than trying to get them to hit the opposite team's players. Fred had been right about the commentary; Albus couldn't hear a word of it.

It felt like he was playing a match by himself. The only other players he saw were the Ravenclaw Seeker, Fred, and Heather. They had given up chasing as a team and instead, when one of them got the Quaffle, they flew it down to the goal posts as best they could.

“Albus, Albus!” someone shouted.

Albus turned and squinted, but he couldn't make out anyone flying near him.

“Albus!”

Albus continued flying in a circle trying to figure out who it was. He didn't even recognize their voice, but it could have been distorted by the wind. Finally, he began to make out a figure flying toward him. It was Heather.

“Albus!” she shouted once she reached him. “The match has been canceled. We're all to return to our common room right now.”

Albus nodded, figuring that Kendrick finally came to his senses. It was just impossible to play a good game of Quidditch in a storm like this.

When Albus and Heather finally reached the changing room they found the rest of the team sitting in their wet Quidditch robes, their faces pale. Albus noticed that even Heather looked slightly afraid.

“What's going on?” Albus asked.

“You were flying so high, you probably didn't hear,” Fred said as Albus sat down. “The match wasn't canceled because of the weather.”

“But it's so bad out there,” Albus said. “That match was pointless.”

“One of the Ravenclaw first years,” Fred continued, ignoring Albus, “she was late to the match and on her way down she saw-” Fred paused, swallowing hard. “She saw Fenrir Greyback on the grounds.”

“What?” Albus exclaimed, suddenly feeling nauseous. “But it's so snowy. How could she possibly know for sure?”

“She can't, of course,” Fred said. “But she went running to Professor Longbottom as soon as she reached the pitch and told him. That's when they canceled the match and sent everyone back to the castle.”

As if he heard Fred mention his name, Professor Longbottom walked into the changing room, looking scared himself. “I'm going to escort you all back to the common room. Wands out as we walk.”

Albus drew his wand and followed the rest of his teammates out of the changing rooms. They were all quiet on the walk back to the castle since the storm was still raging. No one would have been able to hear anything anyone said, even if anyone felt like talking. Albus felt too ill to talk. The thought of Fenrir Greyback being loose was bad enough, after hearing what Matt knew about him, but the thought of him being here, on the Hogwarts grounds, was too awful to even think about.

As they walked up to the castle and then up to Gryffindor tower Albus kept telling himself that it was fully possible that the Ravenclaw girl hadn't seen Fenrir Greyback. She was probably just thinking about the escaped prisoners and imagined something. Albus hadn't even been able to make out his own cousin when she'd been calling his name in this storm. What were the chances of a first year being able to pick out Fenrir Greyback?

But still...what if it had been Greyback? He had to be somewhere, so why not Hogwarts?

The common room was buzzing with chatter when the team entered a short while later. Albus avoided everyone, including his friends, until after he went up to his dormitory to take a shower. He was shivering and felt awful and didn't want to talk to anyone until after he was in dry clothes.

To his surprise his friends were all gathered in his dormitory after he got out of the shower. Bilius and Ethan weren't there, and the door was shut.

“We can't go to the Marauder's Den,” Matt explained. “We're not allowed to leave our common rooms until further notice.”

“Are they doing an investigation?” Albus asked as he sat down on his bed. “And what exactly happened? Fred only explained a little before Longbottom came to take us back to the castle.”

“It was weird,” Rose said. “No one really knew what was happening because it was so snowy and the wind was so loud. We couldn't see the match, so we were just standing there using a lot of heating charms and hoping things would be over soon. But then we started hearing whisperings about Greyback on the grounds. Then, probably two minutes later, Kendrick magically amplified his voice and told us all that we're to report back to our common rooms immediately and to walk back with our wands out and in large groups.

“So then, even though Kendrick never said for sure, we knew that someone had seen Greyback on the grounds. It was so scary. Eventually we found out that one of the Ravenclaw first years thought she saw him on her way to the match and told Professor Longbottom. But besides that we don't know much. No one's told us anything for sure and we've just been hanging out here and talking.”

“But what's he doing here?” Kaden asked. “And I thought there were Aurors guarding Hogwarts.”

“It was planned,” Matt said. “Don't you see? That storm out there is so bad that no one can see three feet in front of them and the wind is so loud no one can hear anything either. It was the perfect day for him to sneak onto the grounds, and if that girl hadn't seen him who knows what he would've done.”

“So you think she really saw him?” Albus asked skeptically. “You said it yourself, no one can see anything.”

“For all we know he said something to her,” Matt said. “No one knows the full story yet.”

“But why?” Kaden asked. “Seems really stupid to me. If he escaped he should be hiding out in the mountains, not going to Hogwarts where there are Aurors.”

“Remember what I said after he escaped?” Matt asked quietly. “This just confirms it. He's going to try to create his own werewolf army again. He was insane before Azkaban; imagine how crazy he is now. They don't need dementors in prison to make people go insane.”

“And you think-”

“That he came to try and figure out how to best position himself to bite kids during the full moon?” Matt interrupted. “Yeah, I do.”

Albus shuddered. “That's sick.”

“That's what he does,” Matt said. He looked more worried than everyone else. “But what I don't get is why it seems like he's trying for Hogwarts kids. Last time he went for really young kids.”

“But we don't even know for sure that's what he's up to,” John pointed out. “I mean it makes sense, but we still don't know.”

“Still,” Matt said. “You have to promise me you won't go outside during the full moon. I don't want any of you joining me in the Shack.”

John looked skeptical. “There's other reasons why he could be here.”

“Promise me,” Matt repeated, staring directly at John. “It's not worth the risk.”

John shrugged. “Yeah, I promise.” Everyone else nodded.

“What about the rest of them?” Amanda asked. “Do you think they're working together?”

“I don't know,” Albus began. “I'm sure the Carrows are together and Umbridge might be with them. But I doubt Willinson and Greyback are with them. The Carrows were Death Eaters, but Greyback wasn't technically a Death Eater. Voldemort used him, but always thought he was scum because he's a werewolf. The Carrows probably agreed. And Willinson, he's got no connection, which is why I'm still confused as to why he broke out with them.”

“For all we know they left the door open and he followed,” John said with a laugh.

Amanda groaned. “Everyone's got their own cell in high security.”

“Oh, yeah, I suppose you're right,” John said.

“Two Death Eaters, a war criminal, a werewolf, and Willinson,” Albus said. “It's so random. Why them?”

“Sounds like the start of a joke,” John said. “Two Death Eaters, a war criminal, a werewolf, and Willinson walk into a pub....”

Matt groaned. “Don't even go there. I just really hope they catch him before the next full moon. There wasn't anything in the Prophet about him biting anyone this last full moon, but I don't think he'd go two moons without biting. And there's no way he'd go on Wolfsbane, even if he could get some.”

“I wonder where the others are,” Rose mused. “You think they're just hiding out?”

“They must be,” Albus said. “There haven't been any sightings.”

There was a knock on the door and then it opened. James walked inside and sat down on the end of Albus's bed.

“Longbottom just came to talk to us,” he said. “We'll be allowed to leave the common room for dinner, but not before that.”

“Did they catch him?” Matt asked anxiously.

“No,” James said. “But, Longbottom said the owner of Madam Puddifoot's also saw him, so the Ravenclaw girl probably did see him. They've scoured Hogsmeade and there's no sign of him, though.”

“Are they rescheduling the match?” Albus asked.

James nodded. “Next Saturday. Good thing, too, because I don't think that one would've ever ended. Don't tell Fred, but there's no way I would've seen the Snitch.”

“One upside to Greyback being on the grounds, I guess,” Albus said.

“Lucky he didn't attack that girl,” Matt said as James left. “He attacks people even when he's not transformed.”

“He did that to my uncle Bill,” Albus said.

“Really?” Matt asked.

Albus nodded. “At the end of my dad's sixth year, the night Dumbledore was killed. He doesn't transform, but he likes really rare meat. Like hardly cooked at all meat.”

“Eww!” Kaden exclaimed. “That's gross. Wait, Matt, do you like really rare meat?”

Matt grinned. “Yeah. I hardly ever get it, though. Mum refuses to let me eat it because she thinks it'll make me ill. And they don't serve it here.”

“My uncle eats it all the time,” Albus said. “Aunt Fleur likes her steaks pretty rare, too. So does Teddy for that matter.”

“I like mine well done,” Kaden said.

“Now that's what's gross,” Matt replied. “I should ask the house elves to make me rare steak.”

“They probably would,” Rose said. “They make you pretty much whatever you want.”

“Let's go tonight,” Matt said. “We haven't been down there in ages.”

Kaden groaned. “So we're going to have to witness you eating a piece of raw meat?”

“Not raw,” Matt said. “Slightly cooked, bit of blood dripping out.”

“Oh, gross!” Kaden shouted. “I'm going back down to the common room.”

Albus laughed and Matt grinned as Kaden ran out of the room. There was nothing like a trip to the kitchens to get their minds off of Greyback and the other escaped convicts.

Chapter 23: Sneaking Out...Again

The first year who saw Greyback on the grounds became an instant Hogwarts celebrity. By the next day her entire story had spread throughout the student body like wildfire, and every single person in the castle knew her name. She was Quinn Gregory, a tiny girl who looked like she belonged in the Weasley clan with her long red hair and spray of freckles across her face. Quinn seemed to be enjoying her newfound fame and always had a crowd of people around her, asking her to recount the story.

Albus, himself, had heard the story at least five times. Quinn had been running to the pitch, late, because she'd spent a half hour trying to convince one of her roommates to go to the match, but in the end her roommate had decided she didn't want to brave the storm. Quinn then spotted someone lurking near the greenhouses and went to investigate, but instead of finding another student, she found Fenrir Greyback. Apparently Greyback had said 'hi, little girl' to Quinn, who then took off running even faster for the Quidditch pitch. Greyback then escaped to Hogsmeade and who knows after that.

As the week progressed Quinn's story grew until it ended with her disarming Greyback after a twenty minute duel and running to the Quidditch pitch in order to warn the rest of the students, rather than because she was scared. Albus was very happy that, for once, this hadn't happened to him or one of his friends.

“Guess what I heard today,” Kaden said as he entered the Marauder's Den Friday evening, after dinner.

“What?” Albus asked, looking up from the Marauder's Map, which he'd spent the last ten minutes studying. John and Matt were in the room as well, Matt studying and John sorting Chocolate Frog cards. Rose was tutoring Elsie Willinson again and Amanda had gone with her.

“Quinn,” Kaden said as he sat down next to Albus. “She's now saying that Greyback stole her wand and she got away from him by kicking his kneecaps.”

Albus burst out laughing. “That's ridiculous. She's still got her wand.”

“She claims Ollivander's sent her an exact replica,” Kaden replied.

“But no two wands are the same,” John pointed out. “Everyone knows that.”

“She's Muggle-born,” Kaden pointed out. “She might not.”

“But still,” Albus said. “She's taken it too far. No one's going to believe her now and it's all going to die down.”

Albus laughed as he looked back at the Marauder's Map. He'd been checking it, both the Hogsmeade and Hogwarts sections, looking for Greyback every so often since last Saturday. He'd yet to find anything remotely interesting on it, least of all Greyback or one of the other escaped convicts.

“Scorpius is leaving the castle,” Albus said, noticing the dot labeled 'Scorpius Malfoy' was no longer in the Slytherin common room, but instead slowly making its way across the grounds.

“What?” Matt asked, closing his book. “But it's eight o'clock. And it's snowing.”

“It's him all right,” Albus said. “Come see.”

Matt, John, and Kaden all crowded around Albus and they watched Scorpius's dot travel further and further from the castle. There were no other dots on the grounds, except Hagrid's, and his was remaining stationary behind his hut. It didn't appear that Malfoy was meeting anyone outside, nor did anyone go with him. It was odd, especially in light of his other odd behavior.

“I wonder what he's up to,” Albus mused.

“We should follow him,” John said. “See what he's up to.”

“I agree,” Kaden said. “No one goes outside at night during a storm for no reason at all. He's up to something.”

“We'd get caught,” Albus pointed out.

“And it's freezing,” Matt added.

“We'll take your Invisibility Cloak,” John said.

“I don't think we all fit anymore,” Albus said, not taking his name off Malfoy's dot.

“Then Kaden and I can go,” John replied.

“No way,” Albus said. “It's my cloak and I don't want you having it when Filch catches you. He'll confiscate it.”

“Who says we'll get caught?” John asked.

Albus laughed and turned to look at John. “Of course you'll get caught. And then my cloak will get taken away and I'll never see it again and my dad will murder me.”

“Your dad's Harry Potter,” John said. “He's not going to murder his own son.”

“If he did Laurentis would love it.” Kaden laughed. “I can see the headline now. 'Harry Potter Murders Own Son, Clearly Unfit For Duty. Weasley Still Supports Him.'”

“Oh shut it,” Albus muttered.

“Wait,” Matt said, staring at the map. “He's going to the Whomping Willow.”

Albus looked back at the map and saw that Matt was right. Malfoy's dot was slowing down and circling the tree, giving it a wide berth. “What's he doing?”

“You don't think he's figured it out, do you?” Matt asked.

“Well now we have to go after him,” John said, standing up.

Matt nodded. “Come on, Albus, let us take your cloak.”

“Fine,” Albus said, knowing that the battle was lost. Malfoy was at the Whomping Willow, which meant that this was now personal for Matt, and therefore, for all of them. “But I still don't know if we'll all fit.”

Albus walked over to his bed and located the cloak in one of the drawers beneath it. He rarely kept it in his dormitory anymore, since he and his friends spent far more time in the Marauder's Den than they did in the common room.

“Let's try it,” Albus said as his friends walked over to him. They stood close and Albus threw the cloak over them.

“Half my body is showing,” John said, turning to look at his still visible arm.

“And all our feet are showing,” Matt pointed out.

“That's because Albus and John are giants,” Kaden asked, glancing up at the five inches of space that separated his head from the top of the cloak.

“Both of you are going to have to crouch down,” Matt said.

“But what about the fact that half my body is showing?” John asked, yanking on the cloak.

“Now I'm not under it at all,” Matt said, yanking it back.

“I wish we could do Disillusionment charms,” Albus muttered. “Too bad we don't learn those until seventh year.”

“Rose could probably figure them out,” John said. “We should have her learn them.”

“Well we don't have time for that now and we're wasting time arguing. Malfoy could be in the tunnel by now,” Matt said.

“There are wards,” Albus pointed out.

“Still...” Matt muttered.

“Fine,” John said. “Albus and Matt can go and Kaden and I will stay here.”

“What?” Kaden shouted. “Why'd you volunteer me to stay?”

“Well, Albus isn't going to let anyone take the cloak without him going and Matt has to go since Malfoy's by the Whomping Willow,” John said. “That leaves you and me. I don't think more than two of us are going to fit.”

“Let's go, then,” Matt said, yanking the cloak off of John and Kaden and repositioning it over himself and Albus. “See you in a bit.”

Albus nearly had to run to keep up with Matt and keep himself crouched down enough to stay hidden, and that was saying something since usually Albus was much faster than Matt. The two of them said nothing on their way down to the front door and weren't noticed by any of the students or professors they passed.

“Remember, we've got to be back before curfew,” Albus said once they shut the front door. “We don't want to be locked out like back in second year.”

“This is total deja vu,” Matt added. “Two years ago we caught Kaden messing with the Whomping Willow. That's when Kendrick added the wards.”

“But unlike with Kaden, I don't think we'll wind up friends with Malfoy after,” Albus pointed out.

The grounds were very quiet, the only sound being the crunching of their feet in the snow. Albus carefully vanished their footprints as they walked, while Matt led them down the path to the Whomping Willow. It was very cold and snowy, which reminded Albus even more of the time they got locked out of the castle after sneaking into the Shrieking Shack.

“Is he even still there?” Matt asked quietly when they were halfway to the tree.

Albus paused and pulled the Marauder's Map out of his pocket. Scorpius's dot was still walking methodically in a circle around the tree. “Yeah, he's there.”

Matt nodded and they continued walking. Neither of them had lit their wands, so they slowed down in order to not be hit by the Willow's large branches. Finally they reached it and stood just outside its hitting range, waiting for Malfoy to come back around.

The Slytherin boy was wrapped in a thick cloak and pacing with his head always turned toward the tree. He had his wand out and didn't seem to notice that he had been joined by Albus and Matt. Albus glanced at Matt as Malfoy walked past them, unsure of whether to call his attention to their presence. Since they were invisible, they could just stand there and watch him.

“There's got to be a way,” Malfoy muttered. “Every ward has a weak point. They don't all last forever.”

Albus could now see that Malfoy was sending various hexes and jinxes into the wards, but they were all deflecting away. As he rounded the tree once more, a hex bounced off the wards and nearly hit Albus, who had to jump out of the way to avoid it. His leg slipped out from underneath the cloak in the process, but Malfoy didn't see it.

“It's got to work,” Malfoy said. “There's no other way in....”

“Into where?” Matt mouthed. Albus shrugged.

They waited for Malfoy to make another circle around the tree and this time one of the hexes reflected off the wards and toward Matt, who jumped to get out of the way, but tripped over a partially buried tree root instead. He fell over, yanking the cloak down with him, leaving both himself and Albus exposed. Matt let out a stream of curses and a cry of pain. Albus heard a sickening crunch as he fell and hoped it was the tree root and not Matt's leg.

“Who's there?” Malfoy shouted, aiming his wand at Albus and Matt. He lit it and his face visibly paled. “What are you two doing here?”

Albus lit his own wand. Matt was still sitting in the snow. “I could ask you the same thing, Malfoy,” Albus said.

Albus pointed his wand at Matt and reached down to help him up. He was clutching his wrist and his face was as pale as Malfoy's, although for different reasons.

“I said, what are you two doing here?” Malfoy repeated, not sounding very confident.

“Following you,” Albus said simply, thinking honesty would be the best policy here. After all, all three of them were breaking the rules. Not much point in denying it or making up excuses.

“How did you know I was here?” Malfoy asked. His wand arm was now trembling, although Albus didn't know if it was from the cold or fear.

“Saw you leave the castle,” Albus said. “Figured we'd see what you were up to.”

“What do you want with the tree?” Matt demanded. His voice sounded pained.

Malfoy's mouth turned up in a sly grin. “Once again, you just confirmed my suspicions. This tree's how you get into the Shrieking Shack. I did a little more research, and turns out this thing was planted the same year the Shrieking Shack was built. The same year Remus Lupin started going to Hogwarts. That Shack's all boarded up so I figured there must be some sort of tunnel leading to it and what better way to hide a tunnel than to put a murderous tree above it? Trouble is, I can't disable the wards. Bet you can, though.”

“Why?” Matt asked. Albus heard him inhale sharply and began to wonder if his wrist was broken. “Why do you want to get in there?”

“Can't tell you,” Malfoy said.

“Well, I'm not disabling the wards,” Matt said.

“I'll figure it out eventually,” Malfoy said.

Albus wanted to ask him about his behavior at dueling practices so badly. They'd had another practice the previous day and again, Malfoy hadn't said two words to anyone. It was just strange. Bur Albus figured that even if he asked, Malfoy wouldn't answer.

“It'd be dumb, you know,” Matt said. “Going into the Shrieking Shack.”

“Well I wouldn't go in on a full moon, idiot,” Malfoy said. “Believe it or not this has nothing to do with you or your evil side. I couldn't care less that you're a filthy werewolf. I have better things-”

Albus jabbed his wand into Malfoy's chest, nearly knocking him over in the process. His heart was pounding and he could feel heat rising up in his body. “You. Take. That. Back,” he seethed.

“Albus, don't,” Matt said.

Malfoy scowled. “No. I won't, because it's true. I don't care. It was the mystery that I liked and nothing more. You don't know the half of what's going on or why I want that Shack. He only uses it one night out of twenty-eight. I want it the other twenty-seven. I don't get why that's such a huge deal.”

“What's going on over there?” a loud voice boomed over the grounds. “Eh, what're yeh doing?”

Albus quickly moved his wand and pointed it elsewhere. It was one thing to get caught on the grounds after dark but another to be caught threatening another student. He pointed his wand in the direction of the voice and saw Hagrid making his way toward them, his large Newfoundland, Fetch, at his side.

“Albus?” Hagird asked as he drew nearer. “Matt? What're yeh doing out here? And Malfoy?”

“Er, nothing,” Albus muttered.

“Well, yer breaking the rules so I'm going to have to take yeh to Longbottom,” Hagrid said and then turned to Malfoy. “And you'll have to see Slughorn.”

“Hospital wing,” Matt said. “First.”

Hagrid turned to Matt and looked at his wrist. “O' course,” he said. “What did yeh do?”

“Tripped over a root,” Matt said. “Landed on a rock.”

Hagrid nodded and clapped Matt on the back, a gesture clearly meant to comfort him but instead nearly knocked him over again. After he recovered they set off for the castle, walking next to Hagrid. Malfoy followed at a short distance. Hagrid didn't ask them what they were doing by the Whomping Willow again, although Albus had a feeling he probably knew. After all, he knew why the tree was there and the fact that Matt was a werewolf.

The castle was much emptier when they returned than when they had left. Albus only saw a few prefects doing their rounds and realized that curfew must have passed. So much for not getting in trouble.

Hagrid walked them to the hospital wing and left Albus and Matt there while he then escorted Malfoy to Slughorn's study. Malfoy had remained quiet during the entire walk, but lost the sneer he'd worn when he insulted Matt.

“I thought you lot had grown out of this,” Madam Pomfrey said as she examined Matt's wrist. “This sneaking about in the dead of night, following people. At least you didn't get locked out this time.

“Yes, your wrist is definitely broken. But I can mend it quickly.”

Madam Pomfrey took her wand out of her robes and pointed it at Matt's wrist. She muttered a spell and instantly, his wrist was healed.

“Thanks,” Matt said, bending his wrist.

“You're welcome,” the nurse replied. She hurried over to a cabinet and returned with a goblet of potion. “Take this for the pain and you'll be good as new. No need to stay the night. I know you stay here enough as it is. You're to wait here until Professor Longbottom comes to collect you.”

Matt nodded and downed the potion in one large gulp. Albus sat down next to him on the bed and they waited for Longbottom. Albus didn't think Hagrid had seen him with his wand pointed at Malfoy, so his punishment shouldn't be too bad.

“You don't think he'll make you miss Quidditch tomorrow, do you?” Matt asked.

Albus hadn't thought of that. “I hope not. Fred would kill me.”

The doors to the ward opened and Professor Longbottom walked inside. He looked tired and slightly annoyed. He sighed and shook his head when he saw Albus and Matt.

“You two again?” he asked. “Hagrid said you were on the grounds after curfew?”

“Yes, sir,” Albus replied. He always felt weird calling Professor Longbottom 'sir', but figured it couldn't hurt in this situation.

“Should I bother asking why?” Longbottom replied.

Albus shook his head, knowing that telling Longbottom why wouldn't get them any fewer detentions, nor would it stop Malfoy from trying to figure out how to get into the Shrieking Shack.

“I'll make this easy, then,” Longbottom said. “Ten points from Gryffindor, each. And you'll both serve detention tomorrow, immediately following the Quidditch match. Lines, in my office. I'll see you then.” Longbottom turned to leave. He nodded to Madam Pomfrey as he walked to the door. “Good night, Poppy.”

“Good night, Neville,” Madam Pomfrey said.

Albus and Matt said good night to the nurse and then left the ward, both automatically going back to the common room rather than the Marauder's Den. If they were caught outside of Gryffindor tower twice in one night they'd get a much worse punishment than twenty lost points and a detention. Albus thought they'd gotten off easy, to be honest. He wondered what Slughorn had set for Malfoy.

John, Kaden, Rose, and Amanda were waiting for them when they got back. John and Kaden were smirking.

“Don't say a word,” Albus muttered. “I knew whoever followed him would get caught.”

“Figured you did, seeing as you've been gone for over an hour,” John said. “What's your punishment?”

“Detention tomorrow after Quidditch and we each lost ten points,” Albus said.

“You got off easy,” Kaden replied. “If it had been me and John we would've gotten three detentions.”

“I think Longbottom took pity on us because Matt broke his wrist while we were out there,” Albus said.

John laughed. “Of course he did.”

“Shut it,” Matt said. “It really hurt. I was dodging a curse that Malfoy sent to the Willow that reflected off the wards.”

“Did you find anything useful out?” Rose asked. “Not that I approve of this.”

Albus and Matt explained what had happened, including the part where Malfoy insulted Matt and Albus nearly hexed him.

“Very odd,” Rose mused. “What can he possibly want the Shack for? And what did he mean when he said he had other stuff going on? What other stuff could he possibly have going on besides school?”

“Whatever he's got going on with Willinson?” John suggested. “Surely Felix knows what his cousins are up to and Malfoy's always involved with that.”

Albus shrugged. “Maybe. But why would he need the Shack?”

“Who knows,” John said.

“I bet it's got something to do with that letter,” Amanda said. “And why he's acting so strangely lately.”

“Speaking of acting strangely, Elsie Willinson is still acting weird,” Rose said. “I thought she would've adjusted by now, but she hasn't. She doesn't seem to have any friends.”

“Does her brother still pick her up from tutoring?” Albus asked.

“Yeah,” Rose replied. “It's very odd. I asked her if she wanted to hang out with me and Amanda until curfew, but she said she couldn't. So I said maybe another time and she said probably not.”

“That's odd,” John said. “Clearly they're up to something.”

“They're always up to something,” Albus pointed out. “I'd love to know what it is, though. I wonder if they've been in contact with Quinton.”

“They'd be stupid to be,” Rose said. “Kendrick didn't punish Felix for what happened to Kaden two years ago, telling him if he did it again he'd get expelled.”

“I still say you've got to figure out what's up with Elsie,” John said.

“I'm trying,” Rose insisted. “It's not as easy as you'd think. She hardly talks at all.”

“Just keep trying,” John said.

“Team!” Fred suddenly shouted from across the common room. “Off to bed, all of you! We've got a second chance at this and let's not ruin it by staying up all night.”

Albus didn't argue. Turning in early was a good idea and he was actually quite tired after his excursion to the Whomping Willow. He bade good night to his friends and went up to his quiet, empty dormitory. It didn't take him long to fall asleep and he dreamt of playing Quidditch with Malfoy while the two of them dodged the Whomping Willow on brooms.

Chapter 24: Precautions

The weather for the rematch was vastly different from the previous Saturday's weather. The sky seemed to be all out of snow and the sun was shining. Although it was still bitterly cold, there was little wind. Albus hoped the match would be a long one since as soon as it was over, he had to serve detention with Professor Longbottom.

Albus went down to the Great Hall by himself for breakfast. His early night had given way to him waking up far sooner than he normally did. It was nice being able to linger over breakfast, though, and concentrate on the upcoming match rather than interact with his friends. As he ate, the Great Hall slowly filled. He had just finished the last of his eggs when the post owls arrived.

Albus observed the owls and didn't recognize any of them. Clearly he was not receiving any post today, which was a good thing because he was fairly certain Longbottom had owled his parents about his detention. But then he noticed a very large owl holding a red envelope in its mouth; it was a howler and the owl was heading toward the Slytherin table. Albus continued watching it and saw it land right in front of Scorpius, who yanked the envelope off the owl's leg and tripped over the bench in his haste to leave the room. Albus actually sympathized with him; it was awful opening a howler in public. From the sound of it, Malfoy didn't quite make it to a loo or empty classroom. Muffled shouting could be heard coming from the Entrance Hall.

Malfoy didn't return to the Great Hall. Albus figured it must have been a particularly awful howler and was wondering what it could possibly have said when his friends sat down next to him.

“Malfoy got a howler,” John said as he started loading his plate with bacon.

“I know,” Albus said. “Saw him get it.”

“Well, we heard the tail end of it,” John said.

“It was awful,” Rose replied.

“What did it say?” Albus asked. “Who was it from?”

“His dad, I'm guessing,” John said. “It was a man's voice. We crouched down on the stairs when we saw him. Basically his dad was yelling at him for getting in trouble for stupid things when he should be studying and concentrating on his school work and keeping his head down. Then he said something about how Malfoy knows that they, meaning his parents, have far more important things on their minds than worrying about Malfoy getting in trouble in school. And how they can't worry about him at school when they're busy worrying about other things.”

“That's vague,” Albus said. “He didn't say what the other things were?”

“Nope,” John said. “But Malfoy obviously knows what they are because he was shaking and he ran for the dungeons after the howler blew up.”

“I told you the letter he read at practice was about something bad,” Amanda said.

“And now we know it's got something to do with his family,” Albus said.

“Maybe they're going to join up with Willinson and the Carrows and all them,” Matt said. “His dad was a Death Eater, wasn't he?”

“Sort of,” Albus said. “His grandfather was, but his dad sort of got caught up in it and he got off. So did his grandfather, actually. No one really knows why, but my dad vouched for them at their hearing.”

“Now that is weird,” Matt said. “Maybe his grandfather is planning on joining them.”

Albus shrugged. “Maybe, but it just doesn't sound right. Listen, I've got to get to the pitch. I'll see you after.”

“Yeah, for detention,” Matt muttered. “Going to be a blast.”

Albus's wish for a long match came true. Since the weather was cooperating, James put off catching the Snitch until Gryffindor was up by 200 points, instead focusing his efforts on faking dives to keep Ravenclaw's Seeker away from the Snitch. It worked, and three and a half hours later James caught the Snitch and won the match for Gryffindor. Albus was sorely disappointed that he'd have to miss the resulting party in the common room, but figured that's what Longbottom was going for when he scheduled detention for right after the match.

Matt was waiting for Albus in the Great Hall and the two of them grabbed a quick lunch before hurrying to Longbottom's office. They spent the next two hours writing 'I will not sneak out of the castle after dark' over and over again. By the time they were done Albus wanted to curl up and take a nap, since the Quidditch match itself had exhausted him. He and Matt decided to spend the afternoon in the Marauder's Den, just relaxing if not actually sleeping.

When they arrived they found John and Kaden in the middle of plotting their new prank. Rose and Amanda were in the library, apparently avoiding John and Kaden and their prank.

“Are you two sure you don't want to be involved with this?” John asked. “It's going to be legendary.”

“It won't be worth the detentions,” Albus said.

“Seriously,” Matt agreed. “If it's legendary it's going to mean a lot of detentions.”

“Fine,” John said.

John and Kaden lowered their voices, but Albus distinctly heard the words 'Weasleys'', 'itching powder,' 'Slytherins,' and 'alarm clocks.' At that point, he really didn't want to know. He and Matt decided to start a game of chess and attempted to tune out John and Kaden's whisperings.

“I was thinking the other night and realized if my dad loses his job when Laurentis is elected it's going to be just like Australia,” Matt said as he captured one of Albus's pawns.

“I hadn't thought of that,” Albus said. “Does that mean you'd move again?”

“I don't know,” Matt said quietly. “I really hope not. I guess I don't think so because the real reason we moved here was so I could go to school, not for Dad to get a new job.”

“Then you probably won't,” Albus replied, taking one of Matt's bishops.

“But if he does lose it, it's going to probably mean Laurentis disagrees with him on werewolf issues,” Matt pointed out. “That could be really bad.”

“You never know,” Albus said. “There's other things your dad deals with that they might disagree on.”

“But my dad's the most vocal on werewolf rights. Everyone knows that,” Matt said. “If they're going to disagree on something, that's going to be it.”

“I guess you'll have to wait until the debate,” Albus said.

“I'm thinking of going,” Matt said quietly. “It might be awful, but I want to know what she says firsthand, not from the Prophet.”

“That makes sense,” Albus said. “When is it?”

“In three weeks,” Matt said. “February 15th. That's the only thing; it's the day of the Hogsmeade trip.”

“That happened last Hogsmeade weekend,” Albus said, “when Rose went. Sucks that they do that.”

Matt nodded. “I think I'll go anyway. I mean, it is the Valentine's Hogsmeade trip. Speaking of that, is James still going out with that Hufflepuff girl? I forgot her name.”

“Gabby Ellis,” Albus said. “I've no idea, to be honest. I guess we'll find out when the Hogsmeade trip comes.”

“Just as long as Fred doesn't schedule Quidditch practice for that day again,” Matt pointed out.

Albus laughed. “He won't. None of us minded too much since the weather was so nice, but I think if he did it again the whole team would hate him.”

“That would make an awkward family dinner, considering over half the team are your cousins,” Matt said.

“Family dinners with my family have become awkward by definition,” Albus said. “Luckily the next one won't be until far after the election.”

“Only a little over two months to go,” Matt said. “You can make it.”

“I hope so,” Albus replied, as he moved his queen in the direct line of Matt's king. “Checkmate.”

***

“Rufus Scrimgeour was the last Minister of Magic to be appointed by the Wizengamot,” Professor Embry said as he strolled around his classroom. It was the first week of February and the class had finally gotten to the point where they were beginning to discuss the second war. “He was appointed quickly, after Cornelius Fudge resigned.

“Minister Fudge is commonly known as the least competent Minister ever to hold office,” Embry continued. “He refused to believe evidence that was laid out plainly in front of him, for fear of being known as the Minister who held office when Voldemort returned. Somehow, he thought that if he ignored what was right in front of him, it would just simply go away. This backfired, of course, because he is now known for being the least competent Minister.

“Scrimgeour is seen in a slightly better light than Fudge, although he was Minister when the Ministry fell to Voldemort in August of 1997....”

Albus knew all of this, of course. He'd grown up listening to his parents laugh at the incompetency of Fudge and the pointlessness of Scrimgeour being considered a minister at all. Nevertheless, he listened to Embry and took detailed notes since the essays Embry set were often long and difficult.

“The time of the second war was a time of fear and chaos,” Embry said as he reached the front of the room again. “No one knew what was going on or who to believe. Many people heartily believed Fudge and what he said, believing Albus Dumbledore to be a fraud or even senile. When this reality was shattered for them in June of of 1996, they didn't know what to do or who to turn to, or even what to believe. They'd been fooled for a full year, believing what their Ministry and newspaper told them. Now that they knew they'd been lied to for a year, what were they to do? They didn't trust anyone, let alone the Ministry. Most people's goals were to protect their family and friends and that was it.

“It was the fear and chaos that allowed Voldemort and his followers to take control of the Ministry. Without the support of wizarding Britain, the Ministry was weak and susceptible to a takeover. It was simple for Voldemort to slip in and takeover in a matter of weeks.”

“Excuse me, Professor?” Olivia Price said, raising her hand.

“Yes, Miss Price?” Embry replied. “You have a question?”

“Yes, sir,” Olivia replied. “I was just wondering, and you don't have to answer, but what were you doing during the second war?”

If Embry was surprised that Olivia asked him a question about his personal life, he didn't show it. Instead he gave a slight smile and began to walk around the classroom again.

“I don't mind answering that,” Embry said. “Many of your parents were involved with the war effort, so of course you're curious. When the Ministry fell I'd been working there for about six years. I got a job as an undersecretary in the Department of Magical Transportation when I was just out of Hogwarts and worked my way up the ranks.

“I'd received a promotion shortly before Minister Fudge resigned and worked to draft laws, but I quit after Scrimgeour got appointed because I saw that the Ministry was weak and corrupt and no longer wished to align myself with it. After Voldemort's defeat, I was approached by Kingsley Shacklebolt asking if I would like to be involved with rebuilding the Ministry, and I said yes.”

Albus was impressed. Embry hadn't mentioned what sort of job he did at the Ministry and Albus had had no idea he had been so involved with its rebuilding after the war.

“So you can see why I believe it is so important to educate all of you about the history of the Ministry and how it is organized now,” Embry finished. “Looks like we're out of time for today so please write an eight inch essay on Rufus Scrimgeour's term as Minister for homework, due next Tuesday.”

Albus packed up his bag and headed back up to Gryffindor tower with his friends. When they arrived, there was a crowd around the notice board, which was strange. The Hogsmeade weekend date had already been announced and rarely did other notices garner such a crowd around the notice board.

Albus shrugged at his friends and they squeezed through the crowd until they could read it. It was a large poster, covering the majority of the board, imposing an early curfew Sunday night. Everyone, first through seventh years, were to be back inside the castle by five in the evening, no exceptions. Below that it warned that Filch was going to lock the front doors at exactly five and that everyone was to report to their common room at five-thirty.

“That's weird,” Albus said as he and his friends retreated. “I don't think they've ever imposed a curfew so early before, and for everyone?”

“It's because Greyback hasn't been caught,” Matt said quietly. “Sunday's the full moon.”

“They must think he's going to come back,” Albus replied.

“Scary,” John added. “Do you really think he will?”

“I don't know,” Matt said. “But I'd bet my parents' whole Gringotts vault that he's going to bite someone Sunday night.”

“Wait,” Rose said. “You don't usually go to the Shrieking Shack until six or seven.”

“They're probably doing it early just to be safe,” Matt said. “In case some people don't follow it or something. It says on there that the prefects are going to do a head count. That's why we all have to come back to the common room at five-thirty.”

Rose nodded. “Then you'll have to leave later, after the doors are locked.”

“Either that or Madam Pomfrey will have me go early,” Matt replied. “I really hope not, though. I hate sitting out in the Shrieking Shack.”

“I hope not, too,” Albus said quietly.

Albus and his friends were probably the only students who knew the reason why a curfew had been imposed on Sunday. Even the prefects seemed clueless, since Albus overheard a few of them trying to figure it out. More than a few students were angry about it, although Albus had no idea why since it wasn't common for students to take a stroll on the grounds on a Sunday night in February. He supposed they liked the choice, though.

As Sunday drew closer Matt became quieter and even more closed off than he normally was. In fact, it reminded Albus a lot of the way he was in first year, before Rose figured out why he disappeared once a month. Both Albus and Rose tried to get him to open up about it, but he shrugged them off and insisted he was fine. John and Kaden didn't seem to notice any difference in Matt, and Amanda wasn't one to ask about it when he closed himself off.

Saturday's Dueling Tournament proved uneventful. Albus spent the entire few hours worrying about Matt because he had elected to skip the tournament in order to sleep, which was odd since he'd normally at least try to participate. At least Malfoy made Albus's life easy by remaining quiet throughout the tournament and not blaming Albus when the team came in third place. Albus himself won both of his duels, as did Malfoy.

On Sunday Albus and his friends spent the day in the Marauder's Den, working on homework and playing games. Matt slept for much of the day and he still wasn't saying anything. While Albus was worried, he was fairly certain the reason Matt was so quiet was Greyback. When a quarter to five rolled around, they had to return to Gryffindor to prove they were in the castle. Matt was still asleep, so Albus told everyone else go to on ahead and that they'd follow.

“Matt,” Albus whispered as he shook his friend awake. “We've got to go back to the common room.”

“This is stupid,” Matt muttered. “They're counting everyone to make sure no one gets attacked by a werewolf when they've got one living in the castle.”

“Is that why you've been so quiet this week?” Albus asked as Matt got up. He didn't reply. “You and Greyback aren't the same.”

“I know,” Matt said as they left the room. The corridor was empty, so he continued to talk. “It's just the fact that we're both werewolves. That's the same. What if they start doing this curfew thing every full moon, all because of me?”

“They won't,” Albus said. “You're not dangerous because you're in the Shrieking Shack. It's all sealed up.”

“I guess, but it's still possible.”

“You and Greyback are different because he wants to bite people. He purposely transforms near people, not on Wolfsbane, so he can infect people. You hide yourself away to protect everyone. That's a huge difference.”

“But what if he does come to Hogsmeade,” Matt continued. “He'll hear me howling and know there's a werewolf in the Shrieking Shack and he'll try to get in.”

“But he won't be able to,” Albus pointed out.

“And then if he does bite someone, and let's face it, he will,” Matt said. “It's going to look bad for all werewolves. All it'll take is a few attacks and people will start believing we should have our rights taken away. That's what happened in Australia.”

“You're getting ahead of yourself,” Albus said as they reached the common room. “Right now you don't know that any of that's going to happen. Wandering banshee.”

“You're nearly late,” the Fat Lady said as she swung her portrait open.

Albus and Matt climbed inside and found the common room the most crowded they'd ever seen it. Prefects were milling about attempting to get everyone to quiet down, but everyone was still trying to figure out why such an early curfew had been set. The room was so crowded that Albus and Matt couldn't find the rest of their friends and since being in a crowded room was not the best idea for Matt right before the full moon, they quit searching and instead sat down near the dormitory doors.

“Everyone, quiet, please!” Heather announced in a magically amplified voice. The room finally quieted down. “I know you're all upset about the curfew but they haven't even told us prefects why it's been imposed. It's not that big a deal since it's February, dark, and freezing outside. None of you would be outside anyway. Now just remain quiet while we take roll so we can all get downstairs for dinner. After we're done you'll be allowed to roam the castle until your normal curfew.”

Heather began calling out names in alphabetical order by year. It took her fifteen or so minutes to get to the fourth years and after that Albus tuned her out. Fifteen minutes after that she finished and all the Gryffindors had been accounted for. The common room emptied out quickly, since everyone wanted to get to the Great Hall for dinner. Matt had fallen asleep and after Albus prodded him awake, he went up to the dormitory to sleep until he had to go to the hospital wing.

When Albus and his friends returned from dinner Matt had already left for the hospital wing. They decided to just stick around the common room since it was fairly empty and spent the evening working on their essays for Professor Embry.

“Any chance you lot know why we're stuck inside?” James asked as he snagged the last chair at Albus's table. “Cedric, Ben, and I are asking everyone.”

Albus exchanged a glance with Rose. He supposed it couldn't hurt to tell James the reason why, just so long as he didn't tell him why they knew. Of course, as soon as he told James it would spread around the castle like dragon pox at a wizarding nursery school, but again, that wouldn't really hurt anything.

“We've got a hunch,” Albus said. “Remember how Quinn Gregory saw Greyback on the grounds during the Quidditch match?”

“Yeah,” James said.

“Well, tonight's a full moon,” Albus said. “Put it together.”

James was silent for a moment and then his eyes grew big. “You think Kendrick thinks he's going to come here tonight?”

“That's our guess,” Albus said and his friends nodded.

“Makes sense,” James said. “Can you imagine what kind of trouble Kendrick would be in if someone got bitten by a werewolf on the grounds?”

Albus didn't want to think about it. He doubted Matt wanted a companion in the Shrieking Shack.

“Scary,” James said, “thinking about Greyback transformed while wandering around the grounds. I wonder why they didn't just tell us. No one would be angry about it if they'd told us the reason.”

“Probably didn't want anyone to panic,” Albus said.

“Guess so,” James agreed. “But still, everyone's going to know now.” He grinned and then got up to go find Ben and Cedric. The fact that the curfew was due to Greyback would be common knowledge in the castle within ten minutes, Albus guessed.

Albus managed to finish his essay and decided to call it a night shortly after. He didn't feel like talking, not with the possibility that Greyback was either running around the Hogwarts grounds or setting himself on some unsuspecting village, wanting to infect small children with lycanthropy. It was awful to think about. Albus laid awake for hours, trying not to think about it, but try as he might, he just could not push the thought from his mind.

Chapter 25: Full Moon Attacks

It was a rare occasion that Albus witnessed the sun rise. Being fourteen-years-old, Albus preferred to sleep until the very late morning or early afternoon, but this particular morning he was up before the sun. He hadn't slept much that night due to his worries about Fenrir Greyback and Matt, and decided that it was pointless to try and sleep when he'd just have to be up in an hour anyway.

Albus sat at the window and watched as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. The grounds looked peaceful, and not at all like the place where a werewolf could've been roaming just a few hours before. The moon had set and both Matt and Greyback would be back in their human forms by now. Whatever had happened was over now and there was nothing anyone could do to change it. Albus wondered just how long it would take for the Prophet to publish some sort of article on any attacks Greyback might've been the cause of.

Bilius and Ethan awoke before John did and busied themselves with talk of the Balycastle and Kenmare match that had taken place Saturday, completely unworried about Greyback. Albus wasn't surprised since neither of them had any sort of personal connection with the escaped werewolf. But they at least knew that the previous night had been a full moon, since James had spread that information around the castle.

John finally rose shortly after Bilius and Ethan left for breakfast. Albus was relieved since they could now speak freely.

“What time is it?” John asked as soon as he sat up. “Have we got time to visit Matt before Herbology?”

“Just after eight, so not really,” Albus said. “And there's no point in visiting him now as he's probably unconscious or sleeping. The moon just set two hours ago.”

“Yeah, but he might know something,” John said as he closed the hangings on his bed while he dressed. “He might've heard Greyback last night.”

“He never remembers anything about full moons,” Albus pointed out.

“It's still worth a shot,” John replied.

Albus thought it would be kind of pointless, but they didn't have time before Herbology anyway. After John finished, the two hurried out of the dormitory and down to the Great Hall for a quick breakfast before class. Rose, Amanda, and Kaden were already there.

“Anything in the Prophet?” Albus asked as he grabbed a stack of toast.

Rose shook her head and swallowed her bacon before answering. “No. Absolutely nothing, but that doesn't mean much. It could just be too soon for enough details to have emerged.”

“Well, we've got a free period this afternoon, so we can go ask Matt,” John said.

“I told you that he's not going to know anything,” Albus reminded him.

John shrugged. “You never know.”

The rest of the student body seemed to have already forgotten about the early curfew and the full moon. Albus didn't hear anyone discussing it on his way to Herbology or at lunch later that day. Since there hadn't been anything in the paper about an attack, it was old news for the Hogwarts students. Everyone that is, except for Albus, John, Rose, and Amanda.

Albus, John, and Amanda were still discussing it on their way to Care of Magical Creatures that afternoon. When they arrived they found Hagrid surrounded by cages filled with small, black, fluffy creatures.

“'ello!” Hagrid shouted. “I've got nifflers for yeh today. Can anyone tell me what makes nifflers unique?”

Albus raised his hand.

“Albus,” Hagrid said.

Albus grinned. “Nifflers find treasure. They like shiny things.”

“Tha's right,” Hagrid said. “So if you've got watches or jewelry on, take it off. I've buried a load of leprechaun gold and your job for today will be to use the nifflers to find it. Everyone pair off and then come get a niffler. Whichever pair finds the most gold gets a pack of Chocolate Frogs.”

There was a flurry as everyone hurried to take off their jewelry and find a niffler that looked like it would be a particularly treasure hunter. Albus took off his watch, shoved it into his pocket, and followed John and Amanda over to the nifflers. With Matt in the hospital wing, Albus was without a partner and decided to just join John and Amanda.

John grabbed the niffler with the longest snout and held the end of the lead while they followed it around the grounds. Every so often the niffler would stop and dig through the snow, revealing a small pile of coins. Albus collected them and shoved them into a bag Hagrid had provided.

The entire procedure was rather entertaining. Albus enjoyed watching not only his niffler, but the rest of the class's nifflers as well. They were adorable, funny creatures. At one point, Janie Creevey and Karina Jordan-Bell's niffler managed to sniff out a set of scales in Bilius's bag resulting in all three of them playing tug-of-war with the niffler.

“Why's he got his scales in there anyway?” John asked as they watched. “We haven't got potions today.”

Albus shrugged. “No idea.”

“Albus, John, look!” Amanda shouted, pointing toward the castle.

Albus turned around and saw two figures walking toward Hagrid's hut. It took a few seconds, but he soon realized that he knew both of them. One Albus recognized as a young Auror from his dad's department. His name was Newman and he'd been one of the Aurors to help when Kaden was kidnapped two years ago. The second man was none other than Matt's dad.

“What's Matt's dad doing here?” John asked.

“Yeah, and who's that other bloke?” Amanda asked.

“He's an Auror,” Albus said. “But why are they here?”

The two wizards walked past Albus, John, and Amanda without making any sort of eye contact, acting as if they'd never seen them before. By now, the rest of the class was looking at them strangely. Matt's dad and Newman kept walking until they reached Hagrid, and they began speaking with him in low voices.

“C'mon,” Albus said as he began walking toward Hagrid.

John tugged the niffler's lead and he and Amanda followed Albus. Albus stopped once they were within earshot, hiding behind a bush. John and Amanda crouched down on either side of him.

“I s'ppose I did hear some funny noises las' night,” Hagrid said. “More'n usual, that is. Always funny noises from the forest. A bit more howling than normal las' night, coming from Hogsmeade. Could've been a werewolf, but I don' know for sure.”

“And did you see anything roaming the grounds?” Matt's dad asked. His voice sounded serious.

“No,” Hagrid said. “Wasn' outside late. What's this about? Greyback?”

Matt's dad and Newman glanced at each other. “Yes,” Matt's dad said. “We have reasons to believe Greyback was in the area last night and we're looking for anyone who might've seen something.”

Hagrid shuddered. “Wish I could help yeh. But yeh know, that howling from Hogsmeade could've just been-”

“Yes, I know,” Mr. Eckerton cut him off, with a quick glance at Newman. “We've had reports of more vicious, louder howling. Howling that seems to change location.”

“Oh!” Hagrid exclaimed. “Yeah, well, again, wish I could help. I'll pay a bit more attention next full moon.”

“We'd appreciate it,” Mr. Eckerton said. “Thanks for your time.”

Matt's dad and Newman turned and left, without a second glance at Hagrid or the class. The rest of the class had long since returned to their nifflers and all had bags of gold far larger than Albus, John, and Amanda's. But Albus no longer cared about winning the Chocolate Frogs. It seemed that something did happen last night, but nobody knew exactly what.

At the end of the class, Albus, John, and Amanda came in dead last for amount of coins collected. Hagrid seemed disappointed, but said that their niffler must've just been tired. After returning it to its cage, the three hurried back to the castle, anxious to stow their bags and go visit Matt.

“If Greyback isn't on Wolfsbane shouldn't he be easy to find after the full moon?” John asked as they walked to the hospital wing. “Wouldn't he be injured?”

“Not necessarily,” Albus said quietly. “Matt only bites and attacks himself because he has nothing else to attack. If Greyback's out roaming the countryside, he can attack animals and people.”

“But what about the actual transformation?” John replied. “Even werewolves on Wolfsbane are achy the next day because of that, right?”

“I think so, yeah, but I bet if you're being chased by Aurors that's the last thing on your mind,” Albus pointed out. “I'm not sure. Matt would probably know.”

Matt was the only patient in the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey was busy in her study, so Albus and his friends were free to discuss whatever they pleased. Albus was happy to see that Matt was awake, although he did look slightly unsettled.

“Was there anything in the Prophet?” Matt asked as soon as Albus, John, and Amanda had taken seats on his bed. “And I'm fine, so don't bother asking.”

“Er, no,” Albus said. “Why?”

“Last night was weird,” Matt said.

“Told you he'd know something,” John said to Albus.

“But I don't,” Matt replied. “It was just weird. I don't know how else to describe it.”

“What happened?” Albus asked.

“I don't know,” Matt said quietly as he pulled his hands out from under the blankets. They were completely bandaged. “Look. My hands are the only part of me that's injured. I mean, I ache all over from the transformations, but I didn't bite myself at all last night.”

Albus looked at the bandages. “But your hands. You didn't bite them? Then why are they bandaged?”

“Splinters,” Matt said. “Madam Pomfrey thinks I spent the night scratching at the door and trying to get out. I've never done that before. I never remember anything from when I'm the wolf, but I do sometimes remember feelings. Like if the wolf was really angry or something. Last night it was desperate, although I have no idea what for. I guess to get outside, if Madam Pomfrey is right.”

“And your wolfy self hasn't done that before?” Albus asked.

“No,” Matt shook his head. “I've been transforming in the Shrieking Shack for three and a half years and the wolf has never done that before.”

“I'll tell you something weirder,” John said. “Your dad was here earlier.”

“What?” Matt exclaimed. “When?”

“Just now,” John said. “During Care of Magical Creatures, he and some Auror came to talk to Hagrid. We listened in-”

“Of course,” Matt cut in.

“Your dad and the Auror, they were asking Hagrid if he'd seen or heard anything weird last night. Hagrid said he didn't see anything, but he thought he heard more noise than usual from Hogsmeade. Then he said that it may have just been you, but your dad cut him off, probably because of the Auror. Then your dad said that there had been reports of more vicious howling than usual.”

“They definitely think that Greyback was in Hogsmeade last night,” Albus said.

“What would've happened if you got out?” Amanda asked.

“Out of the Shack?” Matt asked. “Nothing good. But now he knows that I was there. He'll keep coming back until he's captured. I won't actually be able to escape from the Shack. The wards are too good.”

The door to the ward flew open and Matt's dad came striding inside, still looking as serious as he had earlier. After a quick glance around the room, he strode over to Matt's bed.

“Dad,” Matt said.

“You don't look surprised to see me,” Mr. Eckerton replied as he gave his son a hug. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm all right,” Matt said with a shrug. “Albus, John, and Amanda saw you talking to Hagrid. Well, they heard you, too. Where's the Auror?”

Mr. Eckerton let out a short laugh and then turned to Albus. “I saw you in the bushes. Next time you're trying to hide, don't hide with a niffler. They're notorious giveaways. Yours was trying to sniff out Newman's pocket watch.”

“I missed nifflers?” Matt asked, clearly disappointed.

“Yeah,” Albus said. “I bet Hagrid would let you see one after you're better, though.”

“I need to speak with you about last night, Matt,” Mr. Eckerton said quietly. “In private, perhaps?”

Matt shook his head. “I already told them about last night, so they might as well stay.”

“All right,” Mr. Eckerton said. “I need you to try and remember if you heard or saw anything strange last night. I know you never remember anything, but try.”

Matt held up his bandaged hands. “Madam Pomfrey thinks I tried to get out of the Shack last night. That never happens. Whatever was outside kept the wolf occupied all night. I didn't attack myself.”

Mr. Eckerton's eyes grew large and Albus noticed that the serious look had dissipated. It was replaced with a look Albus had seen quite often on his own father. It was a father's shock and worry.

Matt explained the rest, including the part about the wolf feeling desperate. Mr. Eckerton seemed to contemplate this for a few minutes before sighing and shaking his head.

“What's going on, Dad?” Matt asked.

Mr. Eckerton sighed once more. “I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell you. It'll be in the Prophet tomorrow anyway. Two children were attacked in Little Shingleton last night. It's a town about five miles away, on the other side of that mountain next to Hogsmeade. We've been trying to figure out whether it was Greyback or not, since he left immediately after biting them.”

“Were they Muggles?” Matt asked.

“No,” Mr. Eckerton said. “Which makes me believe that this was a carefully planned attack. Little Shingleton is a Muggle village, with these two children and their parents being the only witches and wizards in the area. It's too coincidental. And why attack both children? Most werewolves take off immediately after biting someone, their instinct telling them to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible.”

“And did they...survive?” Matt replied.

“They're both in stable condition at St. Mungo's. Once their bites heal, they'll be fine, save for the fact that they now have lycanthropy. The bites were clean and small, not normal werewolf bites. These bites were inflicted just to infect. Another sign toward Greyback.”

“But what about Hogsmeade?” Albus asked.

“Five miles is not an impossible journey for a werewolf in a night,” Mr. Eckerton explained. “Most likely Greyback heard Matt's howls last night and followed the sound. Once there, he probably spent the rest of the night attempting to get inside the Shrieking Shack, which is impossible.”

“So you really think it was him?” Matt asked.

“I do, and Auror Newman agrees with me. I left him in Kendrick's study, after telling him I needed to visit you since we were already here. But what you've told me just solidifies it.”

“But can't you just go get him?” John asked. “He can't be that far. No offense, Matt, but if you were outside you wouldn't get very far.”

“None taken.”

“The thing that makes lycnathropy so difficult to study, and also most likely the reason why Wolfsbane doesn't work for all werewolves, is that each person's lycanthropy is vastly different from others. Its effects depend a lot upon a person's views toward their own lycanthropy. Fenrir Greyback has spent his life embracing his lycnathropy and living for that one night a month where his true nature emerges. He embraces his wolf side so much that he even attacks people when the moon is not full.

“You, Matt, on the other hand, identify most with your human side. As you should, considering you're only a wolf one night out of twenty-eight. Therefore, you resist the transformation. You fight it with your every fiber, every month. Greyback embraces it, and probably shifts a lot easier than you do. His transformations most likely do not cause him the same pain.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Matt said.

“But still,” John said. “They should be combing the forest for him.”

Mr. Eckerton chuckled. “They are. Trust me. They have the entire Werewolf Control Unit searching for him, along with six Aurors, and a handful of Junior and trainee Aurors. They don't normally dispatch Aurors to capture rogue werewolves, as that's usually the Werewolf Control Unit's job. And it's not usually my job to investigate werewolf attacks. But this is a high profile case, so they want many people on it, including people in charge. We'll get him.”

Albus wondered if Teddy was on the case. He was a Junior Auror now. Knowing Teddy, he'd want to be on the case since Greyback had turned his dad into a werewolf.

“I've got to get back to the Ministry and fill out a report,” Mr. Eckerton said as he stood up from his chair. “If you think of anything else, Matt, ask to use Professor Longbottom's Floo. Owls are easily intercepted.”

Matt said goodbye to his dad and soon the boys and Amanda were alone in the hospital wing once more. Albus didn't know what to say. Fenrir Greyback, it seemed, was up to his old tricks and somehow Matt had gotten involved.

***

Fenrir Greyback's attack on the two children took the whole front page of the Prophet the following morning. The entire Great Hall was talking about it, professors, students, and ghosts. Copies of the paper were being passed faster than platters of bacon. Albus managed to snag a copy from his cousin Ben.

FENRIR GREYBACK ATTACKS IN LITTLE SHINGLETON

Fenrir Greyback, escaped convict and werewolf,
was sighted last night in Little Shingleton,
Scotland. Little Shingleton is nearly an
entirely Muggle village, save for one
wizarding family. The family, whose
names have not been released due to the
Underage Lycanthrope Protection Law,
suffered an extreme tragedy last night,
when Fenrir Greyback attacked both of
their children. Both children are
reportedly in stable condition at St.
Mungo's.

An investigation, organized by both the
Auror Department and the Department for
the Regulation and Control of Magical
Creatures, headed by head of that department,
Walter Eckerton, concluded late yesterday.
'We've interviewed several eyewitnesses
who saw or heard a werewolf in Hogsmeade
during the full moon. Hogsmeade is only
about five miles from Little Shingleton.'
Investigators said that numerous other
clues led them to believe that the attack
was by Fenrir Greyback, despite not having
actually seen him in Little Shingleton.
'We are not prepared to disclose all details
of the investigation. But we are confident
that this was an attack by Greyback. A team
of Aurors and Werewolf Control Unit employees
are working around the clock to capture
Greyback.'

The article was followed by a recap of Greyback and the crimes that had landed him in Azkaban in the first place, along with a nasty photograph of him. Even in his human form he looked rather wolf-like, which was such a drastic contrast compared to Matt, who didn't resemble a wolf at all, save for his eyes. Albus glanced up from the article and his eyes fell on Matt's. They had a yellowish tint to them, with flecks of gold amidst their natural blue color. They were indeed the only wolf-like trait he possessed when the moon wasn't full.

“This is why people want stricter werewolf control laws,” Matt said quietly.

“Even those couldn't have stopped this,” Albus pointed out.

“People won't think about that. All they'll think about is how their children aren't safe, and they're right. It's just lousy timing. Laurentis is going to use this to her advantage.”

Albus wanted to ensure Matt that everything would be all right, that Laurentis wouldn't blow everything out of proportion, but he couldn't. He knew that Matt was right, that Laurentis would once again use a terrible tragedy to draw more support from the wizarding world. If his uncle Percy was going to stand a chance against her, he was going to have to drastically change his campaign strategy.