HP, Chapter 14, continued

That night went by slowly for Albus. All through the night the werewolves howled, and at one point, Albus could have sworn he heard something yelp out in pain. Whether it was human or not, he couldn't tell. His brain had gotten so tired that all it heard was howls...over and over again... The moon was getting lower on the horizon, and a chill went up Albus's spine. He turned around and saw Derek, Holly, and Peter all squashed onto one of the large chairs with Holly in the middle and the boys on either side of her. They were sleeping softly, the boys using Holly's shoulders as pillows, and Holly, in turn, was using Peter's head as a pillow. Albus looked over at the other chair and noticed that James was sprawled across it with his legs dangling over one of the armrests, sleeping. Albus looked around for Samantha and saw her sitting by the table. She appeared to be reading three things at once...two books and a scroll. Albus was interested, but not enough to pull himself away from the window.

Suddenly, Albus heard the soft sound of a flute. He looked around and saw no one except his friends, and none of them were playing any sort of instrument. The tune was beautiful...soft...sweet. For the first time, Albus felt himself getting tired. He leaned against the wall near the window and rubbed his eyes. He wanted to stay awake, but he just felt that he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer... He felt his back sliding down against the wall then he bumped the floor... Albus opened his eyes for a moment and saw the light from the table where Samantha was reading, then it all went dark as the drifting melody from no where lulled him to sleep...



*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



"Albus..." Albus looked around, trying to peer through the darkness. A weak voice called out to him in a moan.

"Who's there? Where are you?" Albus asked, wondering where the light had gone.

"Albus...it hurts..." the voice came again. Albus swallowed hard and tried to feel where he was. The only thing he could feel was the ground beneath his feet.

"What hurts?" Albus called out to the voice.

"EVERYTHING!" It yelled, and Albus jumped awake. He looked around at the Common room and sighed. It had all been a dream... No one was in the Common room, but the chairs were still where they had been last night - right by the window. Albus stood up and stretched then looked out the window. It was late morning, by the looks of it. Suddenly, the door to the Common room burst open and Derek ran in.

"Albus! You're awake!" He said with a small smile. He ran up and grabbed Albus's arm. "Come on! We're going to be late for class! You slept past breakfast, but I got you a muffin." Derek said, pulling a blueberry muffin out of his book bag. The muffin was rather squashed.

"Thanks..." Albus said slowly, looking at the muffin hesitantly.

"No time now! We've got to GO!" Derek said, dragging Albus back to the door.

"But I don't have my books!" Albus said, pulling his arm free from Derek's grasp.

"Then go get them!" Derek yelled, running back to the door and opening it. "I'll meet you in transfiguration!" Albus ran up to his room as Derek ran out the door. In a minute, Albus had all of the books he needed in his book bag and was dashing out the Common room door. He sped down the hall past a few other late students (most of them first years) and a few ghosts. Peeves flew right in front of him, and Albus didn't turn fast enough to avoid running through Peeves. If Albus wasn't awake before that, he was certainly awake afterwards. He felt as if he'd just ran through an icy waterfall. Albus turned a corner and dashed through the door into the transfiguration classroom. He ran over to sit next to Peter, just as Professor McGonagal walked in from the back. Peter looked Albus over and made a face.

"Didn't you wake up soon enough to change your clothes?" Peter hissed. Albus shook his head. "I suppose it's safe to assume you didn't brush your hair, either, then?" Peter raised an eyebrow and gave Albus a look. Albus licked one of his hands and tried to pat his hair down. It was only then that he realized how messed up the back of his hair must have been. He heard a giggle and turned around to see a Ravenclaw girl giggling at him. Albus moaned softly and turned back to the front. He decided then and there that today was probably going to be a bad day.

HP, Chapter 14, continued

James and Samantha managed to move some of the chairs from in front of the fireplace over in front of one of the windows in the common room with a levitation spell while the others talked in hushed tones.

"You know, it's so much easier to move stuff with magic, it's not even funny." Samantha said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, but then I think of all the Muggles doing it by hand and it's funny again." James said with a smile. Samantha smiled back then looked at the others. None of them were smiling.

"Guys, she'll be okay." Samantha said to them. None of them responded. Holly walked over to one of the chairs and sat down in it. Albus walked over to the window as Derek and Peter walked over to the other chair and had a whispered duel as to who got to sit in it. Albus sighed as the moon rose higher into the sky. Albus glanced around the common room to see that their small group was the only group down there. Not even a ghost in sight. Suddenly, a howl pierced the silent night.

"Did you all hear that?" Albus asked in a whisper, as if speaking too loud would attract it. Peter, who was left standing, nodded.

"Hear what?" Samantha asked, clearly pretending she hadn't heard the howl. James rolled his eyes. Holly glanced up from a book she was reading then looked back down at it quickly. More howls sounded and Albus felt his heart pumping.

"Werewolves are really loud tonight..." Derek mumbled, rubbing his right arm with his left hand as another howl rang out.

"That one wasn't a werewolf, Derek." Holly said softly.

"Well then, what was it?" Derek asked, giving his sister a look.

"A Grim." She replied simply.

"Oh, just great, so she's probably surrounded by werewolves with a death omen right in front of her! Perfect!" Albus said sarcastically.

"Albus, it's a common misconception that Grims are death omens." Holly said. Samantha turned away from the window, looking interested. Derek groaned.

"What are they, then?" Peter asked. Holly smiled.

"Well, I first heard it from my mum, but I'll try to tell it to you all, if you'd like." Holly said happily. Derek was the only one showing any opposition to this, so Holly began to tell the story.

"Long ago, there were two friends, Jezabell and Miria. The two were very close and shared many things with each other, and many secrets. One day, Jezabell told Miria a very different secret. She told her that she was somewhat like an animagus...that she could turn into a big black dog. But she had never really learned how, she just always knew how. Miria thought this was amazing, so Jezabell continued. She went on to tell her friend about her dreams... In all of her dreams, Jezabell spoke with people. Most of them were no longer living in this world, so Jezabell assumed they were figments her mind had created to keep her company in the night. The strange thing was, though, all of the dream-people where very close to Jezabell's friends in this world. Maria was curious, but slightly nervous about this. She didn't know what to say.

"After the two grew old, Miria decided to tell her grandchildren about the story, and in turn, they told their children, and so on and so forth. As these things go, the story got twisted around and the big black dog became known as a Grim...a death omen." Holly finished and Albus couldn't help but shudder. The story was fine, but oddly spooky...

"Okay, if the Grim isn't a death omen, how come all of those people who have seen it have died?" Derek said, voicing Albus' scepticism.

"Because they think it's a death omen, so they do something stupid that ends up getting them killed. It's their own stupid mistakes that gets them dead. Remember Uncle Albert?" Holly said, raising an eyebrow. Derek rolled his eyes.

"What happened to Uncle Albert?" Samantha asked quickly.

"He thought he saw a Grim, thought he was going to die, so he went skiing as a last hurrah. But he'd never been skiing before, so he ended up tumbling down a few too many times and he...uh...broke his neck." Holly finished softly.

"That's awful!" Samantha said, looking suddenly sad. Albus noted that sadness looked odd on Samantha. He guessed this was because she was always so happy...

"Nah, it's all right, we didn't really know him that well anyways." Derek said with a shrug.

HP, Chapter 14

Albus slumped down in the chair in front of the fire and sighed. He closed his eyes for a minute, recalling the events that had just happened. Scorpio was an angry little man... He was about an inch shorter than Albus and much paler, but that didn't mean he wasn't scary. He could probably pull off more with a wand than Albus could... And that was probably the scariest part. They hadn't even started learning spells you could use in a wizard duel...

"Are you all right, Albus?" Derek suddenly asked. He had appeared next to Albus while his eyes were closed.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine..." Albus said softly, coming out of his daze.

"You don't look fine..." Derek came up so he was standing right next to Albus's chair, studying him closely.

"Just...don't worry about it, okay?" Albus finished quickly. Derek looked around uncomfortably until a sudden crash made both him and Albus jump. And everyone else in the room. Everyone turned to see who it was, and to none of Albus's surprise, it was Samantha. She was standing next to a small, tipped over table, cringing. She slowly looked around the room and smiled sheepishly. James suddenly walked up behind her, put a hand on her shoulder and shrugged with a smile.

"What can I say? She's a clutz." He said simply, then pulled her away from the scene of the crime.

"Sorry..." Samantha said softly as everyone started turning back to their previous conversations. James led Samantha over to Albus and Derek and smiled. The two stared back at him blankly. James and Samantha both raised an eyebrow at the same time.

"So, how have you two been?" James suddenly asked, faking enthusiasm. Neither of the other boys answered. James looked at Samantha awkwardly, and she looked back with the same expression.

"You know what would be cool?" Samantha randomly said after a moment.

"What?" James asked.

"If I could break out into song and dance randomly and people wouldn't give me those weird looks." Samantha replied. Suddenly, she gasped and her eyes lit up. "Life should be a musical!!" She exclaimed, looking at James excitedly. James stared at her, confused for a moment, then a mischevious light danced in his eyes.

"You just gave me the most brilliant idea..." He said, looking around the room with a suspicious smile on his face. Samantha looked at him with a confused expression on her face.

"What kind of an idea?" Holly's voice suddenly asked from behind him.

"None of your buisness. Yet." James replied, then he grabbed Samantha's arm and dragged her to a corner of the room no one was gathered in.

"That was weird..." Derek said slowly. Holly nodded.

"Where's Peter?" She suddenly asked.

"Don't know." Albus replied with a shrug. Suddenly, as if on cue, Peter appeared.

"Guys, I've got some bad news." He said, panting.

"Define bad news." Derek said as they all turned to look at him.

"Tonight's a full moon." He replied, a rather worried expression on his face. The others all stared at him with wide eyes. "You know what that means, right?" He whispered.

"It means the werewolves will be out tonight..." Holly breathed. Albus swallowed hard. He didn't like the sound of that...

HP, Chapter 13

"Scruffy, how did you become a werewolf? If you don't mind my asking..." Andrea asked. They were all roasting fish over the fire, and it looked rather uncivilized. But it was food, and Andrea needed to eat it. But she didn't want to eat it raw. She never had been a fan of sushi...

"Well, the becomin' part ain't that long of a story..." Scruffy mumbled, rotating the stick with the fish on it. "So I suppose I could tell it to ya." He finished and took a deep breath.

"I was about four years old when it happened. I was sittin' outside in the front yard. We lived waaay out in the country, mind you, so we didn't have any close neighbors. So, it was dark, I was outside with my family, and all of a sudden, outta the woods came a werewolf. Came right at me, probably because I was the smallest. And closest. Mum came runnin' at the beast, but dad got their first with his riffle in hand. Now, he didn't kill the thing, just shot it in the leg and knocked it over the head with the butt of the gun.

"Mum ran right up and scooped me up in her arms. Dad stopped the bleedin' on both me and the werewolf, then we all rushed to the hospital via the floo network. Dad actually brought the beast along with us. Amazing man, my dad was..." Scruffy gazed into the fire for a moment before continuing. "We got the funniest looks in the hospital, mum told me, because dad had a werewolf slung over his shoulder.

"They worked on me that night to close up my wounds and try to help stop me from becomin' a beast too... Still got some of the scars from when I got all scratched up by the thing." Scruffy rolled up his sleeve all the way to reveal a scar running down his shoulder. "'Course, I still am a werewolf... They didn't stop that." Scruffy rolled down his sleeve and shrugged.

"Archie says you're not a bad werewolf, though... How is that possible? And what's the difference between a good werewolf and a bad one?" Andrea asked, glancing up at Scruffy then quickly looking away.

"Well, my family starting searchin' high and low for a possible cure or somethin' to help me with not bein' a vicious monster. My mum came across a potion that can help a bit, and started me on it right away. I think the book said I was only supposed to take it during the week of a full moon, but mum and dad had me on it every night. Took it the same time, every night of every week. When the first full moon came around, I was a monstrous little thing. 'Course, I don't remember it, but everyone told me I was a fuzzy little rascal. They tried to train me, but I kept trying to bite my older brother and sister, so they had to lock me up in a kennel. It was for my own good, really. I'd wake up the next morning in the kennel and cry until someone woke up and got me out. By then I'd be all right and not remember a thing...

"After a while, I started to be less and less wild. I got calmer, and I think a good part of that isn't just owed to the potion, but also to my family. They helped quite a bit, I reckon. Since I took the potion every night, I just sort of... Settled down over the years. Granted, while I was in school during full moons, I had to sleep in a dungeon cell, but that was just for safety purposes." Scruffy shrugged and pulled his fish-on-a-stick towards him.

"Fascinating story..." Andrea said softly. Archie nodded as he pulled his own stick towards him. "So, did you two go to school at about the same time as Harry Potter, then?"

"Yes, although I was a year or so younger than him..." Archie said.

"I had a few classes with 'im. Fascinating boy. I suppose he's a man, now, though." Scruffy chuckled as he pulled apart his fish.

"What houses were you two in?" Andrea asked, pulling her fish away from the fire and inspecting it.

"Hufflepuff." Scruffy replied promptly.

"Ravenclaw." Archie said through a mouthful of fish.

"Hm..." Andrea said, picking a small bite off of her fish and eating it. She had many more questions to ask these two...

HP, Chapter 12, continued

Potions was even more horrid than ususal. For one thing, Professor McGlinnin looked awfully sad and gloomy, which gave the whole dungeon an even sadder and gloomier look. Scorpio kept glancing in Albus's direction, and Albus couldn't help but look back, so Albus had a terrible time concentrating on the lesson. His hands shook, so his notes looked like dragon scratches and he accidentally put too much pansy powder into the potion they were making, which made the thing start to boil over the top of the cauldron. It burned a hole through Albus's pants and practically disintegrated his partner's shirt. When it got to the floor, everyone had to crawl up on their chairs to avoid the stuff eating through their shoes. Thankfully, Professor McGlinnin was fast with his wand and the gunk didn't get far.

"Well, I think that will be all for today..." Albus was grateful when those words exited McGlinnin's mouth. He grabbed his book bag, shoved his potions book into it, then dashed out the door. "Albus Potter, wait, I'd like a word with you!" Albus cringed and slowly turned around. Derek, Holly, and Peter walked past him, looking sorry.

"You'll be fine, mate." Derek whispered. Holly gave him an attempt at an encouraging smile. It turned out more like a look you would give someone who was about to be sent to Azkaban for life.

"Yes, professor?" Albus asked as he walked back into the classroom. McGlinnin glanced up at Albus and motioned for him to come closer to the desk. Albus practically crawled forward.

"Are you feeling all right, Albus?" Asked McGlinnin. Albus nodded. "Really? Not feeling... Sad or scared or hurt or...regret?" Albus thought for sure McGlinnin's eyes were looking straight into his soul.

"N-no..."

"Hm... You know, Albus, it's all right to feel sad or scared or hurt... But regret is one thing that will eat at your soul faster than anything else. It's not your fault that whatever happened out there happened."

"But it is!" Albus practically yelled. He felt like he wanted to cry again. He had no idea if Andrea was even alive or not, and she was one of his best friends. And probably Scorpio's best friend as well. If not his only friend. "I was the one that said we should go out of the Common Room! I was the one that-"

"Yes, Albus, you suggested it. But the fact that something happened to her out there in the Forbidden Forest is not your fault!" Professor McGlinnin interrupted Albus. McGlinnin put his hands on Albus's shoulders and bent down to his level to look into his eyes. "You can't regret what happened then. You have to think of ways to not let it happen again or fix the problem. Regret is not an option, Albus." Albus sniffed and blinked back the tears in his eyes. His potions teacher was right. And much smarter than Albus had ever thought. "Albus, do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" McGlinnin finished and Albus nodded.

"I understand." Said Albus softly.

"All right, you can go, now." McGlinnin stood up straight and gave Albus a small smile. Albus sniffed one last time then walked out the door.

The rest of the classes went relatively normally after that. Of course, Peter, Derek, and Holly wanted to know what McGlinnin had talked to Albus about, but Albus didn't want to talk about it. Care of Magical Creatures was interesting, because they were no longer on skrewts. They had gotten far too big to be used for teaching anyone anything other than the fact that skrewts were a pain in the rear. Instead, they had begun on faeries. Hagrid had actually gotten one to come to class. It was quite fascinating.

Care of Magical Creatures was their last class, so Albus decided to stay afterwards to ask Hagrid about Andrea. "Have you seen any sign of her out there?" He asked softly. Hagrid shook his head.

"No... Ain't a whole lot of leads, though. From what we can tell, she just up 'n disappeared. Did find somethin' else interestin' though. Sad, but interestin'." Hagrid replied quietly.

"What did you find that was sad but interesting?" Asked Albus. He was curious to see if it had anything to do with Andrea.

"Dead unicorn." Hagrid replied shortly. Albus's heart skipped a beat.

"Did someone kill it or..." Albus began, but Hagrid shook his head, so he stopped talking.

"Looked like it was killed. Not sure how, but it was sliced open and looked like it'd been dead for a couple days, at least. Blood all over the place... Someone wanted the poor thing dead." Explained Hagrid, a sad look on his face.

"Why? And who would want it dead?"

"Why? 'Cause unicorn blood is magical. It'll save ya from the worst of injuries if ya drink it. Can practically bring ya back to life, that stuff can. But, o' course, it comes with a price. Ya drink it, and ya live a half-life. A cursed life..." Albus listened intently to Hagrid as he spoke. He was getting goosebumps. "Who would want it dead? I dunno, Albus. Someone who wanted to live that bad, I s'pose." Hagrid sighed and shook his head. "I think that the person who killed the unicorn probably has somethin' to do with Andrea disappearin'." Albus swallowed hard as Hagrid finished. He hoped that whoever killed the unicorn wouldn't kill Andrea too.

"Well, I'll see you later, Hagrid." Albus said as he turned around and walked up the hill to the castle. He had knots in his stomach as he walked through the doors and down the hallway, making his way towards the Griffindor Common room.

"POTTER!" Someone yelled at Albus from behind. Albus turned around just as a hand grabbed his shoulder and slammed him into the wall. Scorpio Malfoy was surprisingly strong, Albus concluded as he gazed into Scorpio's angry eyes. "You lied, Potter. She's not in there. I went and looked." Scorpio sounded angry, hateful, and on the verge of tears at the same time. Albus plastered himself against the wall as Scorpio pulled out his wand and held it up. No one else was in the hallway... For some odd reason, the place was deserted.

"Where is she, Potter?" Scorpio growled.

"I-I don't know!" Albus exclaimed, trying to become the wall. He was sure that Scorpio was trying to kill him with his eyes.

"I don't believe you, Potter. You had your chance to tell me the truth and you lied! Where is she? Where's my best friend?" Scorpio was practically yelling now. Albus hoped it would attract a teacher or someone.

Scorpio and Albus stared at each other for the longest time. Scorpio maintained his glare, and Albus was sure he looked like a deer caught in some one's headlights. "You lost her out there... Didn't you?" Scorpio said softly. Albus didn't reply, so Scorpio yelled it. "Didn't you?!" Albus turned his face away and flinched.

"I didn't loose her! They think someone took her!" Albus yelled back. Scorpio scowled hard and pulled his wand back. Albus thought for sure Scorpio would kill him. Just then, Sir Nicholas rounded the corner. Scorpio quickly let go of Albus and put his wand away.

"Everything all right down here, boys?" Nick asked, looking over the two of them.

"Yeah, just peachy." Scorpio growled. He gave Albus one last glare then stormed off down the hallway. Albus sighed then glanced up at Sir Nicholas.

"Thank you, Nearly Headless Nick. I think you just saved my life." Said Albus, truly grateful. Sir Nicholas stared at him, puzzled, but didn't have time to ask a question, because Albus quickly ran off.

HP, Chapter 12

Albus woke up in the chair he had fallen asleep in. He hadn't felt tired at all... He had just...fallen asleep. He stretched then looked around. There was no one else in the Common room, and the fire was out. Albus glanced down at his watch and noted it was time for breakfast, which was probably why no one was in the Common room... Albus got up slowly. He wasn't in any hurry. He knew that by going through the day like nothing was wrong would be a lie... But he knew he had to.

Albus entered the Great Hall and sighed. Only two people were missing from the teacher's table. Hagrid and Professor Longbottom. Albus slumped over to the Griffindor table and slid into the seat next to James.

"Hey, little brother." James said, smiling at him. Albus nodded and took a waffle off a nearby plate and plopped it onto his own. "How'd you sleep?" James asked, trying to start up a conversation. Albus merely shrugged again while poking at his waffle.

"Hey, Albus!" Albus swallowed hard and turned in his seat to see pale little Scorpio Malfoy standing behind him, wearing a small smile.

"Oh, hello, Scorpio..." Albus said slowly while looking away.

"Um, where's Andrea?" Scorpio asked, looking around the Griffindor table. Albus reviewed the story in his head before answering.

"She tripped on a root that she didn't see and scratched herself up REALLY badly. She's in the hospital wing right now, but there's a curtain around her bed because her face is all scratched up and she's kinda embarrassed about how it looks, so you probably shouldn't go see her."

"I don't care how she looks, I just want to talk to her." Scorpio replied. Albus couldn't tell if Scorpio bought the story or not.

"Well, she's not in the best shape for talking if you ask me." James interjected. "Right, Sam?"

Samantha stopped chewing her bacon and glared at him.

"Right..." Albus said, looking slowly away from Samantha.

"Why isn't she in the best shape for talking?" Asked Scorpio. He evidently hadn't bought the story, Albus decided. Albus opened his mouth to reply when the owls all flew in, soaring over the heads of the students.

"Look! Mum and dad must have sent us a letter, Derek!" Holly cried, looking up. A auburn colored owl swooped down and dropped a letter and a small package in between Holly and Derek. Holly picked them up gingerly and handed the letter to Derek. It had his name on it. The package had Holly's name on it. Albus turned to watch as Holly opened the package. Anything to use as an excuse to look away from Scorpio was good for him.

"Oh!" Holly exclaimed, an excited smile appearing on her face. She pulled out a piece of thin rope that was tied at the back to make it a circle. Holly put it around her neck and looked at the small medallion hanging off of it.

"That's a pretty cool necklace, Holly. Did your mom or dad get it?" Asked Samantha with a smile. Holly pulled a small note out of the box the necklace was in and read it.

"It's from mum." She said softly. "Says it's a charm to keep the nargles away." Holly smiled and fingered the charm fondly. "I've been wanting one for ages."

Derek shook his head while all of the others stared at her like she was insane.

"I'll see you later, Albus." Scorpio said softly as he turned and walked away. Albus sighed and James thumped him on the back.

"Good job, Albus! That just about sounded like a true story!" James said more loudly than Albus would have liked.

"Yeah, brilliant job of LYING." Samantha said, glaring in Albus's direction.

"I don't feel good about it, all right?" Albus said glumly, looking down at his food. He had suddenly lost the little bit of appetite he had left...

HP, chapter 11, continued

Albus ate all of the roll and a few bites of the green beans and noodles on the plate. Nothing really tasted good to him, though. He sighed and leaned his head back on the chair as Holly sat down in a chair near his. Albus closed his eyes and heard the Common room door open and a few sets of footsteps walk in. Albus opened one eye and saw James at his side.

"You feeling any better?" James asked softly. Albus shrugged as he looked forward again.

"It's not your fault, Albus..." Derek said softly. Albus closed his eyes again and shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it." He mumbled. Just then, the Common room door flung open and someone ran in. Albus heard someone breathing heavily over his shoulder and he opened his eyes and looked up. It was Percy.

"Hello, you lot." He said, forcing a smile. He was still panting and leaning on the back of Albus's chair. Percy cleared his throat then continued. "Listen, Professor McGonagal doesn't really want word spreading about... Well... Andrea." He said slowly.

"I know." Samantha said quickly. Percy gave her a confused look then continued.

"She wants us to come up with a story that sounds believable but-"

"Isn't the truth. In essence, you want us to lie to the student body. Do you realize you're just digging yourself a deeper grave?!" Samantha asked, clearly angry. "I know she doesn't want the parents to find out, I can understand that! People would think she wasn't right for the job anymore, but I will NOT lie to my fellow students. I'm not gonna sink to that level." Samantha was almost yelling, and Percy was looking around frantically to make sure no one was listening. There were a few other people in the Common room, and a couple of them were staring. Percy glared at Samantha and clamped his hand over her mouth. She glared back at him, looking almost evil.

"Listen, I've come up with an idea. All you have to do is tell it to whoever asks about Andrea. You lot are her main group of friends, so I suspect there won't be many questions. Now, just listen and tell me if it's believable." Percy paused to clear his throat then continued.

"Andrea tripped on a raised root while in the forest. She scratched herself up pretty badly, so she got taken to the hospital wing. She's still in pretty bad condition, so there's a curtain hanging around her bed. She'd prefer not to have visitors, because she scratched up her face badly and is a bit embarrassed about the whole thing." Percy sighed then forced another smile. "Make it sound believable, all right? Add in your own phrasing, but don't change stories." Percy gave them all a warning look then released his hand from Samantha's mouth.

"You're so lucky I didn't grow fangs and bite you." She growled angrily. Percy faked a laugh, and Derek, James, and Peter chuckled. Albus sighed and stared ahead glumly. Percy bent down next to him and looked at him sympathetically.

"I'm sorry you have to do this, Albus..." Percy began in a whisper. "But, please, do it for the school, all right? And for the safety of the students. I mean, if they know what really happened, some of them might go out into the forest to find her themselves. They could be seriously hurt. I just need you to do this. Please?" Percy finished and patted Albus on the shoulder, then stood and looked over the others. He nodded to them all then quickly walked out of the room.

"You know what this is?" Samantha asked, glaring at the now closed Common room door.

"What?" Derek asked, glancing over at her.

"Hogwash."

HP, Chapter 11

Albus stared out the window sadly. He saw the Forbidden Forest and wondered where Andrea was in it. He wondered if she was still alive. "Aren't you hungry?" Someone asked from behind. It was a high voice, and soft, so Albus knew right away that it was Holly. Albus shook his head and sighed. A plate of food slowly floated up beside him and he looked away.

"I'm not hungry, Holly." He said softly. He heard Holly sigh from behind him.

"You didn't even look to see that I was using the levitation spell, did you?" She asked, sounding cross. Albus glanced over his shoulder and realized that there was no hand attached to the plate. Albus raised an eyebrow in surprise then smiled slightly.

"Good job, Holly. You've got the levitation spell down, don't you?" Albus said, still speaking softly.

"Yes, Peter helped me with it. It's quite easy after you know what to do." She said, still from behind Albus. The plate of food began to spin around in the air, then it began to bounce up and down.

"Um, Holly, please stop..." Albus said as he backed into the chair more. The food didn't stop flying all over the place, though.

"You know, Albus, you really need to eat something. And you need to get your mind off of Andrea. It wasn't your fault, and moping about it isn't going to help." Holly said. Evidently she was talking with her hands, as well as her mouth, because the food kept on flying.

"Um, Holly..." Albus's eyes went wide as the plate of food stopped right over his head.

"Yes, Albus?" Holly asked from behind.

"Will you please stop flinging the plate around?"

"Oh, sorry..." The plate came to a stop on Albus's lap and he breathed a sigh of relief. Holly walked around the chair and stood next to Albus. "Are you going to eat any of it?" She asked softly. Albus shook his head.

"Not now..."

"Oh, okay." Holly looked down at her shoes then back up at Albus. She looked sad, and Albus figured that was because of him. He sighed and picked up a roll that was on the plate and took a bite out of it. Holly smiled triumphantly.

"There, happy?" Albus asked through a mouthful of roll. Holly nodded and giggled in reply.

HP, Chapter 10, continued

"They're so beautiful." Andrea said softly. The unicorns didn't seem to be paying much attention to them anymore.

"I don't think I've ever seen them this close before..." Archie whispered. "Have you, Scruffy?" Scruffy shook his head.

"Not alive, at least." He replied with a frown. Andrea looked startled.

"What do you mean?" She asked in an urgent whisper.

"Remember how I told you that Scruffy thought he smelled something dead before we found you?" Archie asked. Andrea nodded. "After we brought you back to our camp and took care of you, Scruffy went looking for it. He was going to bury whatever it was-"

"Mostly because of the stink." Scruffy interrupted, looking away. Archie rolled his eyes.

"He's such a softy under all the fur." Archie sighed then continued. "Anyways, he found it, and it was a dead unicorn." Andrea gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

"Who would kill a unicorn? And why?" Scruffy shrugged in reply.

"Well, the why is pretty easy. See, unicorns have magical blood. And if you drink it, it can save you from death. Even if you're knocking on death's door, it can save you." Archie explained.

"So, it's like some super healing potion?" Andrea asked Archie.

"Yes, that's one way to look at it..." He replied slowly. "But it doesn't come for free... Drinking a unicorn's blood puts a curse on you. A curse where you're only able to live a 'half-life'." Archie finished quietly and solemnly.

"What's a 'half-life'?" Andrea asked in a whisper. Archie shrugged.

"I suppose it would be a life of... Pain." He replied simply. "I don't know beyond that."

"Why would you do something like that, though? I think I'd rather die than live a half-life..." Andrea said as she rested her head on her knees.

"If you're really desperate and want to live, then I guess you'd do it. Well, I wouldn't, and you wouldn't, but someone who doesn't care and wants to live would." Scruffy said quickly.

"I actually have an idea on who would want to..." Archie began slowly. Scruffy and Andrea both looked at him with confused expressions on their faces. "Do you remember anything at all from last night? Because I'm wondering if maybe you were pulled in here by another human. Not a creature. And I'm wondering if maybe you fought back hard enough to seriously wound the person trying to kidnap you." He explained slowly. Andrea looked down at the clear water in the lake, focusing on the stones at the bottom of it.

"I remember being with my friend Albus... And he turned around for a second, and something grabbed me. They were hands, so it was at least partially human. And I could only let out a little scream before I couldn't talk anymore..."

"A silencing spell." Scruffy cut in quickly. Archie nodded before Andrea continued.

"Then I got dragged away... And it all went black for a while, then I heard someone say some spell and...I said something...then they screamed..." Andrea finished slowly.

"What did you say?" Archie asked quickly.

"I don't know... I can't remember all of it..."

"Memory charm?" Scruffy whispered. Archie shook his head.

"Have to be a partial one, but even then they wouldn't be able to pick and choose what she remembered. Just what she forgot past a certain amount of time..." He replied with a thoughtful look on his face. Andrea glanced up from the rocks at the bottom of the lake and gasped as she noticed the unicorns were gone.

"Oh... They left..." She said softly. Scruffy chuckled.

"They have a tendency to do that." He said with a smile. Andrea bent over the water and peered into the lake. It was crystal clear...

"Is the water safe to touch?" She asked.

"Well, I hope so! Archie and I been swimin' in there for I don't know how long." Scruffy replied.

"Scruffy splashes like there's no tomorrow." Archie said with a glare at his companion. Scruffy smiled like a schoolboy who just got away with a prank. Andrea shrugged then reached into the water and pulled out a handful of rocks. She began looking at them one by one. Some of them looked like gems and others looked like regular rocks... Except that they were all so smooth. Andrea picked up one and looked at it closely. It had markings on it. She wondered if the markings on it had been carved in or were some kind of a fossil... She put the rocks in the pocket of her robe then dried her hands off on her shirt.

"Um, I think I'm getting a bit hungry..." Andrea said softly. Scruffy smiled wide.

"Perfect! I get to show you my skills at catching fish!" Scruffy said with eagerness in his voice. Andrea giggled and realized she was actually starting to like these two... But she wasn't going to let her guard down completely. After all... One of them was still a werewolf.

HP, Chapter 10

Author's Note: Okay, I know there are at least a few people who read my blog... I mean, it claims that I have eight PWMRLMB, so do any of you people read these little Harry Potter fanfic chapters?? If so, I would appreciate a comment. The one person that used to read it has stopped reading it as far as I know. Is it really that bad? =(

Andrea woke up and looked around. Archie and Scruffy were gone. Suddenly, Andrea panicked. She didn't know if she liked those two, but she knew she didn't want to be alone out here. Andrea stood up and looked around frantically. "A-Archie?" Andrea called out. "Sc-Scruffy?" She yelled a little louder.

"Yes?" Archie called from ahead of Andrea. Andrea peered ahead but didn't see him. It was afternoon now, so it wasn't that dark, but the thick foliage that consisted of the tree's leaves made it darker.

"Where are you?" Andrea asked.

"Here." Archie stepped out into the small clearing and Andrea sighed.

"Where's Scruffy?" She asked, looking around.

"He went to the lake to get some more fish. Sometimes he fishes just for sport... Throws them back in, though..." Archie replied, glancing up at Andrea.

"Can we go to the lake?" Andrea asked after a moment.

"I suppose so." Archie replied, walking towards Andrea. Andrea strained herself to not back away. She didn't know how long she was going to be stuck out here, but she figured she needed to make the most of it while she was here. Andrea followed Archie at a safe distance. She let her eyes wander all around her, taking in every tree, flower, and bug she saw.

"Just stick with us and you'll be safe here, all right?" Archie said softly. He walked so quietly through the forest that Andrea almost couldn't hear his footsteps. "We know most of the things that live in here, not by acquaintance, just by hearing them or seeing them from a distance. We also know where they've made their territory, so stick with us and you should be fine." Archie continued explaining.

"What kinds of things live out here?" Andrea asked, speeding up a bit.

"Well, werewolves, unicorns, one giant, a few enormous spiders - and by a few I mean a few dozen - centaurs, a few faeries, and maybe another vampire or two. Vampires and werewolves can't survive too well out here, especially vampires, because there aren't many humans out here or regular animals. And... Well, you know..." Archie said, his voice trailing off as he finished. Andrea swallowed hard and looked around again.

"Will they come and try to get me?" She asked softly. Archie shook his head and glanced over his shoulder.

"No, they know our territory. On an occasional full moon, Scruffy will have to chase off a few werewolves, but nothing too serious." Archie replied.

"How come Scruffy never tried to...uh, get you?" Andrea asked softly. Archie sighed and suddenly, sunlight fell onto Andrea. They had reached the lake. There was a border of trees around the lake and a few large rocks scattered here and there. Scruffy was sitting on a rock nearby. He looked over at the two of them and put his pointer finger to his mouth to tell them to be quiet. He then pointed across the river and Andrea gasped. There, getting a drink, was a large unicorn. It lifted up it's head and looked at the group of three, then put it's head down again and took another drink from the lake.

"It's so beautiful..." Andrea whispered. Just then, a small unicorn walked out from among the trees and walked up next to the larger one. "It has a baby!" Andrea cried softly.

"That must be it's mother." Scruffy said quietly. The three of them watched intently as another small unicorn walked up to the lake.

HP, chapter 9

Samantha walked quietly down the hall, hoping no one heard her. She was aloud to be out and about, but that didn't mean she wanted everyone to know she was eavesdropping. She stopped outside the door to Professor Longbottom's office and put her ear to the door. She could only hear the muffled words and different voices. Samantha reached into her pocket and pulled out the ear she had bought from George's prank shop. She put the ear over her own and slowly stuck the string connected to it under the door. She heard everything perfectly after that.

"What are we going to do?" She heard Longbottom ask. He sounded worried.

"We'll have to go look for her again!" It was a different teacher... Samantha couldn't remember his name.

"Why aren't we out there right now looking for her? It's the middle of the night, she could be in grave danger! She could even be dead!" The last sentence was hissed, but Samantha still heard it. It made her blood run cold.

"She's not dead! If she was dead we would have found her!" Longbottom said, panic rising in his voice.

"Professor McGonagal, what're we gonna do?" Hagrid asked. He sounded defeated... Samantha felt bad for him. She felt worse for Professor mcGonagal, though. After all, she was the one who organized their punishment.

"We're not going to make a big deal of this! We're going to stay calm and think of something to tell the students. Some of them will notice she's gone and ask questions. Rumors will circulate and we have to make sure parents don't find out." McGonagal said quickly and quietly. Samantha clenched her fists at her sides. They were going to lie to the students, she knew it. When were they going to go find Andrea?

"When will we be going out again to find her?" Longbottom suddenly voiced Samantha's question. Samantha heard a sigh and waited for someone to reply. Finally, McGonagal did.

"We'll have to look for her after all of the classes are finished. We don't want to make the students suspicious. If they find out, they'll tell their parents and Hogwarts will be ruined." McGonagal said sadly.

More like you'll be ruined. Samantha thought as she glared at nothing. She heard what sounded somewhat like a growl.

"Why can't we just go look for her NOW?!" Professor Longbottom practically yelled.

"If you want to go look for her now, be my guest." McGonagal replied softly. Samantha heard footsteps coming towards the door. She jumped up and ran down the hall, making it to the end of the hallway just in time. Just as she turned the corner, Professor Longbottom stormed out of the room. Samantha leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. She heard more footsteps follow after Longbottom's and was relieved that he wasn't going out there alone.

Samantha walked down a few hallways until she came to a window looking out over the Forbidden Forest. She saw a few teachers walk into the Forest with their wands lit. Samantha sighed and closed her eyes. She suddenly felt an icy hand on her shoulder and glanced over to see nearly-headless Nick standing next to her.

"Andrea will be all right." He said softly. Samantha smiled sadly.

"Yeah... Whatever you say." She replied as she gazed back out the window. She only hoped Sir Nicholas was right...

HP, Chapter 8, continued

"Um... Do either of you know how to get back to Hogwarts?" Andrea asked quietly. Archie and Scruffy both looked up at her.

"Nope. Not even sure how you strayed this far out into the forest." Scruffy replied.

"Sorry..." Archie said softly. He looked genuinely sad. Andrea bit her lower lip and rested her head on her knees. Archie looked up at Scruffy, who had gone back to his stick carving.

"Are you hungry, Andrea?" Archie asked. Andrea glanced up at him and shrugged.

"I'll take that as a yes." Scruffy said, standing up. His stick now had a good point on it. "You gonna put the fire on, Arch?" Scruffy asked as he turned around.

"Will do." Archie replied as he too stood up. Andrea watched as Scruffy walked off into the forest and Archie began making a fire. Archie gathered some sticks and put them into a small pile in the middle of a circle of large rocks. Andrea put her head down again and closed her eyes. Part of her wanted to cry, but she didn't want to cry in front of a complete stranger... Instead, she decided to ask some questions.

"How did you end up in here if your just a regular person?" Andrea heard Archie sigh and she glanced up. His back was to her, and he already had a fire going.

"Well, it's just easier for someone like me to live out here. Since I couldn't get a job, I didn't have any money, and a place to stay costs money... So, with no where else to turn, I just came out here." Archie finished his rather short explanation without turning around.

"Don't you have any family?" Andrea asked. Archie didn't reply for a minute, instead he just appeared to be watching the fire.

"Scruffy's the closest to family I have now..." He said softly.

"How long have you been out here?" Andrea asked. She wondered if she should stop asking questions, but she was curious and didn't want to just sit there with her thoughts... Archie sighed again then replied.

"A while. A long while. It's hard to keep track of time when you don't have a watch or a calendar, and after a while, you don't really care anymore..." Archie let his voice trail off. Andrea didn't think she would stop caring about how long she was out here... She would think of a way to keep track.

"How did you meet Scruffy?" Andrea continued her questioning.

"Well, I came out here and came across him. I met him in the middle of the day, and he insisted that I stayed with him, at least for the evening." Andrea interrupted Archie to ask a question.

"What do you mean 'stay with him'? There's no house here."

"Actually, this is our house. This is where Scruffy brought me when we first met. He told me to make a bed... Higher up, he suggested. I had no idea what he meant by that, but I found out that night..."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that that night was a full moon. That's why Scruffy told me to build a bed high up. And I did." Archie explained. Andrea felt the color rush out of her face.

"Wait... So... Scruffy's a... Werewolf??" Andrea asked slowly.

"Yes, but he's not one of the bad ones. I'll let him explain it to you." Archie replied. Andrea was really scared now... "Anyways, that night Scruffy made sure none of the bad werewolves came too close, and the rest is really history. Scruffy's like the big brother I never had." Archie finished and turned around, a small smile on his face. Just then, Scruffy walked back into the small clearing with three fish in his hands.

"I forgot I didn't bring anything to hold 'em in... So I only brought back three... If it's not enough, I'll go back for more." Scruffy said softly. He glanced over at Andrea and smiled. Andrea had a feeling that he had heard what she and Archie had been talking about. Archie took one of the fish and sat down on a stump near the fire. He pulled a sharp rock out of his pocket and began to skin the fish. Scruffy began skinning another fish with his pocket knife.

"You want one?" Scruffy asked, holding a partially skinned fish out to Andrea. She curled up a little more and shook her head. Scruffy glanced up at Archie, who shrugged.

"Give her time. She'll eat eventually." Archie said in a whisper. Scruffy looked at Andrea out of the corner of his eye and hoped Archie was right.

Andrea curled up as small as she could and bit her bottom lip. She had tears in her eyes, and she wanted to get out of the Forest. She hoped someone would find her soon. Archie and Scruffy seemed nice, but Andrea didn't want to be out here in the Forest with them. She wanted to be back in the school with her friends... Andrea closed her eyes as the first tear rolled down her cheek.

HP, Chapter 8

"Uuugh..." Andrea opened her eyes and looked around. Her head hurt, her side hurt, her back hurt... Well, basically everything hurt. She rubbed her eyes then blinked a few times, then propped herself up on her elbows. She looked around slowly and realized she was in a forest... She tried to remember what had happened, but she couldn't... Suddenly, she saw a man walk up to her. Andrea gasped and moved a few more feet away from him. His hair was messy, and he had a short beard. His clothes were baggy and ripped in places.

"Don't worry none, I ain't gonna hurt ya." He said as he sat down on a rock. He had a bit of a rough voice with an English accent mixed in. He smiled at Andrea, and she remarked that his teeth were surprisingly white. She had expected them to be yellow and rotting...

"Well, I would think you gave her quite a fright, coming up out of no where like that." Another voice came from her other side. Andrea quickly looked over and saw another man sitting next to her. He smiled warmly, and Andrea noticed that his skin was incredibly pale. He didn't show his teeth when he smiled, but he did have a fair amount of compassion in his eyes. He had short hair that was surprisingly neat, and he wore clothes that weren't nearly as baggy as the other man's clothes.

"Who...who are you? Where am I?" Andrea asked, edging farther back from both men.

"I, am Archibald Kruntz, and this is-" The pale man began, but the other one cut him off.

"I'm Scruffy, he's Archie. Simple as that." He replied. Andrea stared at them both, slightly confused.

"I don't know why you're so ashamed of your name, Scruffy." Archie said while shaking his head.
"'Cause it's stupid, that's why. My parents musta been drunk when they were namin' me." Scruffy said, frowning. He picked up a stick then reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocketknife. Scruffy began carving on the stick, mostly just giving it a point.

"Don't mind him, he has a bit of an attitude in the morning." Archie whispered to Andrea.

"I heard that!" Scruffy said loudly. Archie smirked and his eyes twinkled.

"Now, as to answer your other question, you are in the Forbidden Forest." Archie said calmly. Andrea thought she was going to throw up. She remembered that she and Albus had come to a clearing...then...nothing.

"How did ya get here, anyways?" Scruffy asked.

"It was a punishment for breaking some rules." Andrea replied softly.

"You go to Hogwarts, then?" Archie asked as he stood up. Andrea nodded.

"Ah, I remember Hogwarts... Good times." Scruffy said absentmindedly.

"Do you remember anything else that happened?" Archie asked. He walked over to a bowl that was on a rock and pulled a piece of cloth out of it. The cloth was wet, so Andrea assumed there was water in the bowl. He began walking back towards Andrea as she shook her head. Archie sighed and kneeled down next to her. "I was afraid of that..." He said softly. Andrea went to move a little farther from him, but she moved right into Scruffy. She gasped and Scruffy shrugged.

"Why do ya keep gettin' scared of me?" Scruffy asked, smiling down at her.

"Because you appear out of no where." Archie replied shortly. Scruffy rolled his eyes and Archie glanced up at Andrea, then up at Scruffy.

"You can tell her." Scruffy said, sitting back on his heels. Archie sighed again and his shoulders dropped.

"Um, all right then... Uh, you have a bit of a side wound." Archie said quickly.

"What? What do you mean?" Andrea asked, wishing she could just disappear into the tree behind her.

"Um, if you could pull up your shirt just a little bit, just about an inch or two, I could show you..." Archie looked very uncomfortable, and Andrea was sure she mirrored his expression. She swallowed hard then lifted up her shirt about half an inch, then bent over and looked at her side. She saw bandages on it. She lifted her shirt up a bit more, and saw more bandages... Some of them were tinted read. Andrea put her shirt down slowly then looked up at Archie.

"We found you a little ways away... Scruffy thought he smelled something dead, and for a minute after we found you, I thought he meant you... But you were still breathing, barely, but still...so I guessed it was something else. You were bleeding badly, so we brought you back here and bandaged you up best we could. You can thank Scruffy for some of the bandages, because his clothes weren't quite as ripped before you came." Archie smiled sadly and Andrea looked away.

"What's your name?" Scruffy asked suddenly. Andrea brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. It hurt to bend like that, though.

"Andrea," She replied softly.

"That's a nice name." Archie said with a smile. He handed Andrea the wet cloth he had been holding and smiled.

"I was originally going to use that to clean your wound, but since you're awake now..." Archie stopped and shrugged.

"How did you know how to bandage it up so well?" Andrea asked. She hadn't really examined the bandage, but it looked like it was done by a professional.

"I trained to be a doctor for a while... Once I graduated, though, I couldn't get a job." Archie began explaining. He leaned back against a different tree and looked up at the leaves above him. "No one would let me work at a hospital because of how I looked. No matter what I said, they wouldn't listen." Andrea swallowed hard and thought she knew what was coming.

"Are you a...vampire?" She asked, afraid of the answer. She didn't want to be stuck in the Forbidden Forest with a vampire.

"No!" Archie yelled suddenly. Andrea jumped.

"Archie, no need to yell." Scruffy said, moving back to the rock he had been sitting on before.

"I'm sorry, it's just that... I'm so tired of people making that assumption because of how I look." Archie continued. "I have a condition that makes me look so pale, and-"

"And gives you fangs." Scruffy finished for him.

"I do not have fangs." Archie said, glaring at Scruffy.

"No, but you do have some awfully big incisors..." Scruffy mumbled. Archie sighed and looked away.

"They're canines, Scruffy. You of all people should know that..." Archie mumbled while picking up a twig off of the ground.

"So... You're not a vampire?" Andrea asked.

"Correct, I am not a vampire. I have an iron condition." Archie said shortly. Andrea looked down at her hands. She had a feeling this was going to be a long day... She wondered if either of these men knew how to get back to Hogwarts...

HP, Chapter 7, continued

Hagrid practically ran up the lawn to the steps, and Albus thought he was going to be sick. Both from what had happened in the Forest and from all of the bouncing. "Hey, how was-" Albus heard his brother's voice as Hagrid walked up the steps and through the big doors leading into the school. Albus caught a glance of James and Samantha, who were evidentally both standing there waiting for him and Andrea. Albus was still crying and tried to hide his face from James and Samantha as they walked past them. After just a few minutes, Albus realized he was being sat down in a chair. He looked around and realized he and Hagrid were in Professor McGonagal's office. Hagrid and McGonagal were talking, and all of the portraits were staring at Albus. Albus wiped his nose of his robe sleeve and tried to stop crying. His eyes hurt from crying so much...

"Albus, I need you to tell me what happened in there." McGonagal said softly but urgently. Albus nodded and sniffed, trying to stifle his sobs.

"We went down one of the paths while Hagrid and Fang went down the other one..." Albus began. McGonagal glanced over at Hagrid.

"Which path?" She asked. Albus wasn't sure who she was asking, but Hagrid answered.

"The safe one!" Hagrid said loudly as he threw his hands in the air. "I sent 'em down the safe one! I knew this was a bad idea." Hagrid mumbled the last bit, but McGonagal still heard.

"What happened next?" McGonagal asked Albus.

"We went down the path and came to a clearing, and it stunk." Albus hiccuped and McGonagal's brow creased.

"What did it smell like?" McGonagal continued her questioning.

"I'm not sure... We got there and we both heard something, so we turned to look. I heard something snap and I looked for what it was, and then-" Albus stopped and began crying again.

"Then what?"

"She screamed, and she was gone." Albus put his head in his hands and tried to curl up into a ball, but it was rather hard to do when he was sitting in a chair. Professor McGonagal stood up and talked to Hagrid some more.

"We'll send out some teachers to find her, and you'll be going out too. She can't be too far from there." Albus heard her say. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Albus looked up to see Hagrid standing there, a grim look on his face. Professor McGonagal looked up at Hagrid and gave him a quick nod.

"Come on, Albus. Back to your common room." Hagrid said, gently lifting him up. Albus walked out of the room, down the staircase, and back through the hallways to his common room. Albus walked through the door and realized Hagrid wasn't next to him anymore.

"Albus!" Holly cried as soon as he walked through the door. Albus looked up and wiped the tears out of his eyes. He had cried so hard that he didn't think he could cry anymore. He saw the rest of his friends standing near by, including James and Samantha. Holly ran right up to him and gave him a hug.

"W-where's Andrea?" Peter asked hesitantly. Albus looked up, and found to his surprise that he could cry some more. Samantha walked over to him and wrapped him up in a hug.

"It's okay, it's okay." She whispered in his ear. Albus didn't really think it was.

No one said anything for a while, they all just stood there like they were. Holly and Samantha hugging Albus and the others just staring. Albus didn't know how many people walked through the common room while they all just stood there... He didn't really care, either.

Suddenly, the door flung open and Professor Longbottom ran in. He stopped when he saw Albus being hugged. Longbottom walked over to him quickly and Holly and Samantha stepped back. Longbottom bent down to Albus's level and looked him in the eyes. Longbottom opened his mouth to say something, but didn't seem to find the words. So, he just hugged Albus quickly then walked farther into the common room, evidentally looking for something.

"It'll be okay, Albus. They'll find her." James said softly as Albus numbly made his way over to a chair in front of the fire. Albus curled up on the chair and watched the fire dance. He wondered what had happened to Andrea back there...and if they really would find her... Before he knew it, he was asleep...

HP, Chapter 7 (You thought I'd forgotten about them, hadn't you?)

If you don't remember where I left off on this, do what I did and read back. :P (Yes, I had to read back to remember what last happened!)

After all of their classes, Albus and Andrea were led up to Professor McGonnagal's office by Professor Longbottom. Andrea looked downright ashamed, where as Albus just looked scared. They came to a stone gargoyle and Professor Longbottom stopped them. "Pumpkin cakes." He said simply, and the statue began to move. As it did, a staircase rose from beneath it. After the staircase was done moving, Professor Longbottom led them up to Professor McGonnagal's office. Professor Longbottom knocked on the door and sighed, looking down sympathetically at Albus and Andrea.

"Come in." Professor McGonnagal said from inside. Longbottom opened the door slowly and pushed Albus and Andrea inside. McGonnagal was sitting behind a large desk, and there were portraits all around the room. Albus and Andrea walked up to the desk and McGonnagal glanced up at them from a scroll she was reading.

"So, what did you two do to earn you a visit to my office?" She asked softly.

"We broke some rules..." Albus said quietly. He heard Andrea sniff beside him.

"What did you do?"

"We were out of the common room when we were supposed to be in it, and we were in a forbidden corridor..." Albus said slowly. McGonnagal sighed.

"Well, then you get to help Hagrid tonight." She said quickly.

"Doing what...?" Albus asked warily. He knew working with Hagrid could only be a punishment if they were doing something terrible.

"You'll see when you get there. You can go down to his cabin now and he'll tell you what to do." McGonnagal said shortly. The two kids nodded and Longbottom began leading them out. Albus glanced around the room as they walked out and noticed most of the portraits appeared to be asleep. There were two that were watching them carefully, though. One was an old man with white hair and a beard, the other had dark hair, a pointed nose, and no beard. Albus's eyes locked with the eyes of the black-haired portrait for a minute, then Albus looked away.

After they were back down the stairs, Longbottom looked down at Albus and Andrea and sighed. "Good luck, you two." He said in a whisper, then walked off.

"Come on." Andrea said glumly. She led Albus down the hall to the large door leading outside. Suddenly, Peeves swept down and floated in front of the two children.

"Congratulations on your first offense!" He said, reaching for Albus's hands. Albus stared at him, slightly confused.

"Go away, Peeves." Andrea said in almost a growl. Peeves stuck his tongue out at her then flew away. They continued on until they got to the door. It was open to the warm evening air. The sky was still light, but you could tell the sun was starting to set. Albus and Andrea slowly made their way down to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was standing outside with an enormous black dog that Albus knew as Fang.*

"Well, good evening, you two." Hagrid said as they reached his cabin. "Din't expect to see you two 'ere for a punishment, though. 'Ave to admit that." He said with a small smile. Andrea sighed and Albus stuck his hands in his pockets.

"What are we supposed to help you with?" Albus asked warily.

"Findin' a Skrewt's all." Hagrid said quickly.

"Where?" Andrea asked slowly.

"In the Forest." Andrea gasped as Hagrid turned around and started walking towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Um, not to be rude, but last time someone went looking for a Skrewt in there they almost ended up dead." Andrea said.

"Been years since then, yer gunna be fine!" Hagrid said, walking more towards the Forbidden Forest. "Besides, ya got yer wands on ya, right?" He glanced over his shoulder and Albus and Andrea nodded. "Then yer gunna be fine! Now come on!" He said, leading Fang with him. Fang was an old dog, and slow, but it made Hagrid go slower, so Albus didn't mind it.

A few steps into the Forbidden Forest and it was almost completely black. "Stick to the paths, you two." Hagrid said, walking off.

"Where are you going?" Albus asked him.

"To look for the Skrewt! You two stay together!" Hagrid called. Andrea gaped after him as he just walked off, calm as could be.

"I'm scared." Albus whispered. Andrea nodded then sighed.

"Come on. Let's keep moving." Andrea pulled out her wand and said a spell quickly, and the end of her wand lit up. Every time they heard a movement, she shined the light in the direction. Usually it was nothing. Sometimes, though, they thought for sure it was something...

After a few minutes of walking, they came into a small clearing. "Do you know where we are?" Albus asked softly.

"No, but I know how to get back." Andrea said. She sniffed the air and grimaced. "Do you smell that?" She asked in a whisper.

"Yes. What is it?" Albus replied, just as quietly as Andrea had asked her question.

"I don't know, but I'm guessing we'll find out..." Andrea replied. Suddenly, Albus heard a snap behind them. He and Andrea spun around and looked frantically around. Albus saw something out of the corner of his eye and spun to look at it. There was nothing there.

"Andrea, did you see-" He was cut off, though, by a piercing scream. Albus spun around to look for Andrea and didn't see her anywhere.

"Andrea?" He called out. There was no reply. "ANDREA!" He yelled. Suddenly, he pulled out his wand and pointed it towards the sky. A red spark shot out of it and exploded into fireworks above the trees. Albus waited and watched until he heard footsteps pounding towards him. Albus was so scared, he was shaking. He turned and saw Hagrid bound up to him, Fang on his heels.

"Where's Andrea?" Hagrid asked, looking around wildly. Suddenly, Albus burst into tears.

"I turned away from her for a minute, and then she was gone! She screamed, and then she was gone!" Albus threw himself at Hagrid and Hagrid picked Albus up. Hagrid tried to calm him down, but it didn't do any good. "It's all my fault!" Albus wailed. His head was buried in Hagrid's enormous coat, so he didn't see where they were going. He just knew they were walking out of the Forest.

"Wait, we have to find her!" Albus sobbed out.

"No, we have to go tell the teachers. I knew this was a bad idea." Hagrid muttered the last part, and Albus tried to stop crying. He wondered what would happen now...


*Fang is funny as a dog's name. *giggles*

Chapter 6, continued

Professor Longbottom looked down at what had bumped into him, and Andrea and Albus glanced up. "Well, well, well. Who do we have wandering around in a forbidden corridor at this time of night?" Professor Longbottom asked, patting Albus's head, even though he couldn't see it. "Too short to be James...Oh, don't tell me..." Professor Longbottom groaned and lifted up the invisibility cloak. He sighed as he saw Albus and Andrea both standing there. Albus smiled up at him sheepishly, while Andrea hid her face in her hands. "What are you two doing?" Professor Longbottom asked, disappointment lingering in his voice.

"I knew we were going to get caught. I TOLD you so!" Andrea said, glaring at Albus. Her glare was so hard it almost scared him.

"I just wanted to come down and...I...I don't know..." Albus finally just let his sentence dangle while Andrea began mumbling things that were impossible to understand.

"Do you two realize you were breaking at least two rules?" Professor Longbottom asked, kneeling down to be at nearly eye level with Albus.

"Yes, sir. But, it's all my fault, really-" Albus began, but Andrea cut him off.

"Oh, please. It's not all your fault. Sure, you were stupid enough to get the idea, but I was stupid enough to go along with it! I mean, where's my common sense?!? It's gone! Gone I tell you!" Andrea was practically screaming at Albus, throwing her hands up in the air. She sighed and leaned against the wall, letting her back slide against it until she was sitting on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Professor." She said quietly. Albus nodded.

"Me too." He chimed in. Professor Longbottom sighed.

"Well, it doesn't matter how sorry you are. You still broke the rules, and I still have to tell Professor McGonagal." Both of the children looked up at Professor Longbottom with sad eyes. "After your classes, I'll take you both up to her office to talk with her, and she'll decide your punishment." The children nodded, then began shuffling back to their room with Professor Longbottom behind them.


The next day and breakfast, Samantha just shook her head after hearing the story of Andrea and Albus's midnight walk. "I can't believe you guys did that!" She said. James smiled.

"I can!" He reached over Samantha to give Albus a high-five. Albus didn't give him one.

"I feel really bad..." He said, instead. James rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, that'll go away...in a few years." James laughed and Samantha biffed him. Her hair was pink again, and pulled back in a pony tail. Holly giggled as James rubbed his arm, and Derek and Peter just sat there, staring at Andrea and Albus.

Suddenly, the mail owls came through and began dropping letters and packages on the tables. Samantha's eagle came right to their table and circled overhead before dropping a letter into Samantha's eggs. Samantha looked up and shook her head. Albus's head jerked up as he heard the eagle screech. He glanced over at Samantha and stared at her.

"Wow, you're eagle sure can talk." He remarked. James had his hands over his ears as he glared at Samantha.

"Oh, that wasn't the eagle..." James said resentfully. Samantha beamed.

"You did that?" Peter asked in disbelief. Samantha nodded proudly. "You know how to speak eagle?!?" He asked, still not believing it.

"Yep. And lots of other animals, too." Samantha said matter-of-factly.

"How?" Derek asked.

"Hello, sleep problem!" Samantha replied in a "duh" tone. Derek nodded, understanding. Samantha picked up her letter and wiped the egg off it. She was about to read it when Peter looked at his watch and gasped.

"We're gonna be late! Come on!" He grabbed Holly by the arm and yanked her up then dashed out of the room, still holding her arm. Holly gave a short scream as they ran. Derek, Albus and Andrea all jumped up while James and Samantha got up a bit slower. They all dashed off to their separate classes.

Whew!

Okay, I've been meaning to post the following, but haven't been able to. So here it is, what me and my family did last week. (Starting with the Saturday before last)

Saturday:

We drove up to visit some of our relatives, we mainly wanted to see Grandma because, well, we hadn't in forever. On a good day, the drive is three hours. We got up there and stayed the night with my Uncle Pete and Aunt Betty. (I have some cool pictures of stuff in their house.) We all had fun, and my baby brother enjoyed playing on their "rocking plane" and playing with all of their toys. After a while, we went to bed. Bigger/younger brother (the brother that's not that baby...the baby's not really a baby any more, he's three, but for clarity the three year old with be called "baby brother" and the other one will be called "other brother" :P)...where were we before the rabbit trail? Oh, right, "Other brother" and I slept on inflatable sleeping bags. They were nifty. His was camo, I think, and mine had really bright flowers on it.

Sunday:

We had monkey bread for breakfast, went to a church up there, I went to junior church with baby brother, (which wasn't half bad, actually...) then we went to visit Grandma. We had lunch at her house, and I ate so much that I should have been writhing in pain the rest of the day, but I only got a small stomach ache. (Remember that, okay?) For the rest of the day, we watched Harry Potter. (Insert smilie here) I know you're thinking "What? I thought you went to spend time with your Grandma!" And we did. Thing with that side of the family is, though, that when you get together, you just kinda...chill. Watch TV, talk, eat, that kinda stuff. Nothin' really spiffy. Besides, she was watching it with us. :P (She didn't get it at all...and I had to explain lots to dad because he hasn't read the books. Tisk tisk...) Anyhoo, we watched part of the second one, and most of the third one...I think... (Can't totally remember, though...) Then, when we were getting hungry-ish, we took Grandma to Big Boy. (Oh, while we were there, my Aunt Jean and cousin Micheal came over for a little, and we saw Uncle Caz.) After dinner, we started going home around...eight or nine...AND HEADED STRAIGHT INTO A BLIZZARD!!! O_O We drove for like, five hours!!!! We were all exhausted when we got home...

Monday:

Monday was a day of rest. Me and my bros and dad slept in, no school. Mom did have to go to work, though. :( We went to choir that evening, and it was fun. :) (I ACTUALLY HAVE BUDDIES THERE, NOW! WHOO!!)

Tuesday:

Dentist. bleeeeech...

Wednesday:

We packed to go to the Great Wolf Lodge! (We have one in our area, it rocks.) After dad got home, we went to have fun! We played in the water park, played Magi Quest, had a blast!!!

Thursday:

Played more at GWL, then came home laaaaaaaate at night. We got ice cream before we went home. :)

Friday:

Around seven o'clock ish, some of our friends came over. We had been cleaning the house up when we were home during the week, and we had been cleaning and stuff before they came that day, too. When they FINALLY got here, they stayed until...three a.m., ish? Oh yeah, it was a blast. Tacos, card games, talking, laughing, snacks...pure awesomeness. (We also watched Glenn Beck before they came, and let me tell you, he'll be getting a post pretty soon. Go Beck!)

Saturday:

After we all woke from our comas, we went back to the Great Wolf Lodge. :D I'm pretty sure my baby brother is starting to think of it as a second home after this week. :P Lemme tell ya, I could live at a GWL...

Sunday:

We went to church and relaxed. Busy week...fun week. I love it when dad has vacation time. :)

Monday:

Choir, again. Not as fun as the week before, but not torture. :P

Tuesday:

Once again, we went to the Great Wolf Lodge! (We had time left on our wands, little did we know our bands would be good too! But we didn't bring swim stuff... *sigh*) Came home when we were done playing and watched American Idol. GO DANNY GOKE!!! My fave quote from American Idol was "It left me confused...yet, happy!" I almost fell off my chair I laughed so hard when I heard that.

Wednesday:

Real life...but it's pretty good. :)

Okay, now you're all caught up on my life...I guess. We had fun, and I hope you had fun too. :D

"It is not our abilities that define us, but the choices we make." Albus Dumbledore.

That quote is actually pretty cool. I mean, lots of people can write, but what defines me is WHAT I write. Lots of people can draw, but what I draw is what defines me. Those are choices I make. Also, how I decide to spend my money and time. What I choose to post even defines me! I mean, how many people post stuff about Alvin and the Chipmunks, pictures they've drawn, random stuff, an HP fanfic, and then even some serious stuff? I just think that that quote is really cool. Wait, Dumbledore is really cool, so of course what he says is going to be cool, right? :P UNLESS IT'S SOMEONE PRETENDING TO BE DUMBLEDORE!! *gasp* Okay, that was seriously off topic... Anyhoo, what you choose, who you choose to hang out with, and what you choose to do with your talents and time defines you. Remember that, because it is important.

Chapter 6, continued

"We are going to get in SO much trouble!" Andrea hissed as she and Albus walked down another corridor.

"Not if you don't blow our cover by talking!" Albus replied in a whisper. Just then, both of them gasped. They heard footsteps walking towards them from behind. They both silently turned around and saw Samantha skipping up the hallway. She passed by them then stopped dead in her tracks. She turned around slowly and seemed to stare right at Albus and Andrea, even though they were invisible. Samantha took a step forward and Albus and Andrea took a silent step back. She reached her hand out towards Albus's head, and Albus and Andrea leaned back slowly. Suddenly, Peeves flew by, messing up Samantha's hair as he went. Samantha jumped and frowned at Peeves.

"You coming or what?" Peeves asked as he flew around Samantha's head.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Samantha replied. She took one last look at Albus and Andrea then ran after Peeves. Albus and Andrea both let out a sigh, a breath they didn't realize they'd been holding in.

"That was WAY too close..." Andrea said, glaring at Albus. Albus smiled sheepishly and continued walking. The turned down corridor after corridor, until finally Andrea stopped.

"Where are we?!?" She asked, throwing the cloak off. Albus stared at her with his mouth open.

"Ssshhh! Someone will hear you!" He hissed, picking up the cloak.

"You know what, Albus, I don't care! We're lost in the school! How are we going to get back to the common room?!?" Andrea was almost yelling, and Albus threw the cloak back overtop of them.

"We'll find our way back, just chill out, all right?" Albus lead them down another path and through a doorway.

There was nothing in the new room except an old mirror. Albus walked up to it while Andrea stayed behind, examining something on the wall. "What is this...?" Albus asked.

"It's a special mirror with a hard-to-pronounce name that shows you only what you want to see." Andrea replied, not turning to look at Albus. He looked in the mirror and smiled. He was just like his dad. He had trophies, was the Griffindor seeker, and had all his friends near him.

"What do you see?" Albus asked Andrea. She sighed and walked over to the mirror. She looked in and her eyes smiled, even though the rest of her face didn't.

"Me and all my friends." She replied shortly. "Now let's go." She grabbed the cloak and she and Albus put it on. The walked out the door, only to bump into someone else.

Chapter 6 of HP

"Andrea, are you getting a cold?" Samantha asked as the entire group of James, Andrea, Albus, Peter, Holly, Derek and Samantha sat around the fire in the common room.

"No...why?" Andrea asked slowly. Samantha shrugged.

"You just seem like you're not feeling very good." She replied casually. Andrea fidgeted in her seat, but only Samantha seemed to notice. Just then, Professor Longbottom walked over to their chairs.

"Evening all! What's up with you lot?" He asked, leaning on the back of Samantha's puffy chair.

"The ceiling." Samantha replied, gazing into the fire. "Hey, Professor Longbottom, can I talk to you...privately?" Samantha asked, looking up at him. He looked a little taken aback, but agreed to it with a nod of his head. The two walked over to a corner of the common room and began to talk.

"Well, what do you think is up with that?" James asked as they all watched the two of them talking.

"Don't know..." Peter replied. "It is a bit curious, though..." Albus shrugged and turned back to face the fire.

"So, how was Potions today?" James asked, a smile dancing on his face. Albus glared at him, hard. James chuckled and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, little brother. Accidents happen all the time." James reassured Albus.

"Yeah, it's just that most of them happen to me..." Albus mumbled.

"Hey! Not true! I was the one who got dragged all over the lawn by a skrewt! Remember?" Peter said. Holly giggled and Derek smirked. Albus rolled his eyes and sighed.

"James, do you know where Samantha goes at night?" Derek asked. James shrugged.

"I don't know what she does, exactly. I think she just wanders around, finds people to talk to, hangs out with ghosts...dies her hair different colors, sometimes. Her favorite color? Bubblegum pink." James finished with a smile and Percy, who had been walking by them stopped dead in his tracks.

"You know the specific shade or pink she dies her hair?" Percy asked, leaning over James' chair. James nodded. Percy shrugged then turned to look at Professor Longbottom and Samantha.

"What are they talking about?" Percy asked to no one in particular.

"Probably about room arrangement." James said off-handedly.

"Hm..." Percy watched the two of them talk for another moment then continued walking.

"Well, I think it's time I go to bed." Peter said, standing up.

"It's not that late yet." Derek remarked.

"No, but I like to get up early. Besides, I always hear this annoying tapping noise above my bed at some point in the night, and if I can get sleep before the tapping starts, I'm all for it." Peter explained, then went up stairs.

"Well...I guess that's a smart idea...I suppose I'll head up too, then." Derek said. He stood up and looked over at Holly, who had fallen asleep in her chair. He nudged her and she woke up with a start.

"Huh? Wha?" Holly asked, sitting up.

"Time for bed, Holly..." Derek said, helping her up. She stood up and practically sleep-walked all the way up the stairs and to her room. Derek sighed and shook his head.

"Well, goodnight you guys." He said, then went up stairs. Albus and Andrea sat in silence for a while, watching the fire.

"Hey," Albus said after most of the people had gone up to their rooms. "Want to see something cool?" He concluded in a whisper. Andrea raised an eyebrow at him. "I'll be right back." Albus said, then ran up stairs. He dashed into his room, made sure everyone was asleep, then grabbed his invisibility cloak out of his bag. He ran back down the stairs after tucking it under his robe.

"See, look!" Albus showed Andrea the cloak and her eyes grew wide.

"Albus, you can't let anyone see this!" She hissed, grabbing the cloak and shoving it under her robe.

"There's no one down here." Albus whispered. Andrea sighed.

"There are still a couple people down here!" She hissed at him again. Albus glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping fourth years.

"They're asleep!" Albus said, grabbing the cloak from Andrea. "Besides, once we put it on, they won't be able to see us." Albus smiled and Andrea groaned.

"No, Albus." She said firmly.

"Fine, you stay here like a sour puss. I'll go out and explore by myself." Albus said, putting the cloak on.

"No! You could get in serious trouble!" Andrea said, trying to keep her voice down. Albus lifted the cloak up for Andrea to see his smiling face.

"Then why don't you come to make sure I don't get in trouble?" He offered, holding out part of the cloak for her to crawl under. Andrea groaned again then got underneath the cloak.

"I hope you know I'm doing this against my better judgement." She said, glaring at Albus.

"Don't worry. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" Albus said, then the two walked out the door to a world of terrible possibilities...