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A mother kangaroo stood absolutely still in the moonlit forest, watching her child play in the bushes in front of her. The mother would gently pull the roo back every time he got too far away. She was watching him carefully when a loud pop startled her. The joey hopped back over to his mother and jumped into her pouch. They hopped away quickly, not noticing the man who had just appeared a few meters away.

The man swore under his breath as his face contorted. His round face was elongating and his black hair lightened to a brownish shade. He stumbled around and kicked off his shoes as his feet grew too large for them. It was not only his feet that were growing, but his entire body. The man was now six inches taller than he had been when he first Apparated into the forest. Finally, it stopped. The man now looked completely different and kind of strange in Muggle clothing that was far too small for him.

He opened his bag and pulled out a set of black wizard robes, changing into them quickly. He tossed the Muggle clothing into the bag and set off at a brisk pace.

"Bloody Muggle airplanes," he muttered to himself, "Ministry ought to just allow international Flooing."

It was a very quiet night, with only the occasional owl hooting in the distance. The moon was not full enough to provide enough light to illuminate the path, but the man did not want to draw attention to himself by lighting his wand. He merely stumbled along, swearing every time he tripped over a rock or a tree root.

The tall man was not entirely sure how far he would have to walk to find the place he was looking for. In fact, the man he was going to visit did not even know he was coming. Nevertheless, he kept walking through the forest, until he finally came to the edge.

A short distance away stood a rather large house. It was not big enough to be considered a mansion, but substantially larger than most houses. The man glanced at his watch before continuing towards the house.

"Damn," he muttered as he noticed that his watch was still set for British time. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his wrist. The hands on the watch swirled until coming to a stop. It was nearly midnight.

There was one lone light on in the house. Other than that, the place seemed either deserted or its occupants asleep. The man did not care if everyone was asleep; he would merely wake them up. He picked up his pace as he crossed the yard and ascended the steps up to the front door.

The man knocked three times and stood waiting for someone to let him in. A short while later, the door opened a crack. However, it did not appear that anyone had actually answered it.

"Is you needing something, sir?" a squeaky voice asked.

The man looked down and saw a house elf peeking his head around the door. "Why yes," the man replied, "Is Lubar in?"

"Master Lubar?" the elf asked, "He is."

"I need to speak to him," the man said.

"Come in," the elf replied, "Is you wanting a drink?"

"No," the man muttered as he entered the house, "Just show me to Lubar."

"Yes, sir. This way."

The man followed the elf through the extravagant house. He always wondered how Lubar managed to afford everything. It's not like he made much money at his job. There were statues, works of art, gold encrusted tables, oriental rugs, and the fanciest furniture in all of the rooms he passed.

The elf led him to a room with the door halfway open. Light was streaming out of it, but the man couldn't hear any voices. Lubar must be alone, he thought. That would be best anyway.

The man pushed past the elf and into the room without knocking. He didn't see the need. Lubar was family. Sure, the man hadn't seen him in years, but he was family nonetheless. Lubar was the man's wife's cousin, to be specific.

Lubar was sitting at his desk, perusing a book. His untidy brown hair was dangling over his face. He looked up when the man stepped into the room. He looked momentarily shocked, but regained his composure and stood up. Lubar was quite a bit shorter than the man in the doorway and was wearing similar black robes.

"Jarrett," Lubar gestured for him to come in, "What an, unusual, surprise."

The man, Jarrett, walked in and took a seat in the red leather chair in front of the desk. Lubar resumed his position behind the desk.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Lubar asked, folding his hands in front of him. "It's been a long time, Jarrett."

"I know, Ralph, it has indeed," Jarrett mused.

"I have half a mind to throw you out of this house after what your brother-in-law did to my brother," Lubar growled.

"And I assure you that I understand," Jarrett replied, "I do not approve of what my brother-in-law did. I have not spoken to the man since."

Lubar raised his eyebrow. "Interesting. And has your wife been in contact with him?"

"She has," Jarrett sighed, "But that is just one of the many things we have different opinions on. I am well aware that you have no plans to forgive her brother, which is why I am here unbeknownst to her. I would like to put that issue behind us and rekindle our friendship, Lubar."

"I will have to think about that," Lubar said.

"I understand," Jarrett said, "That's all I can ask you to do."

"I am quite curious as to how you managed to get here. Isn't your entire ministry after you? I pay attention to magical news all around the world, you know. I have been following your story for the past year," Lubar changed the subject.

Jarrett smiled. It had been surprisingly easy to get to Australia with Muggle transportation. It took a while and was rather annoying, but easy.

"Yes, the Ministry is after me. However, I took the liberty of using Muggle transportation to arrive here. I simply took some Polyjuice Potion, bought an airplane ticket, and now I'm here."

"Impressive," Lubar replied, "You used the new 24 hour Polyjuice?"

"Obviously," Jarrett smirked, "Otherwise I would have turned back into myself in the middle of an airport."

"True. Now, what can I do for you? What could you possibly need that would cause you to take Muggle transportation to get here? Somehow, I don't think you would go through such extreme measures to rekindle a friendship that died a decade ago."

"Do you know why the Ministry wants me?"

"Something about dueling Harry Potter?" Lubar smirked, "That might be the stupidest thing you have ever done."

"That's the gist of it," Jarrett muttered, "But we had reasons for doing it."

"We?"

"Yes. Myself, my son, and one of my friends."

"Ah," Lubar leaned back in his chair, "Do you care to enlighten me about your reasons?"

"We want to unite the Deathly Hallows in order to help our mission to continue the plans of Lord Voldemort," Jarrett explained, "Harry Potter knows the location of all three of the Deathly Hallows and currently possesses two of them. Have you heard of the Hallows?"

"Of course I have," Lubar snapped, "Mind you, I thought it was just a children's story."

"I assure you, it's not," Jarrett said, "I myself saw the Invisibility Cloak. They exist and had something to do with Voldemort's downfall."

"Lord Voldemort," Lubar mused, "I understand. I myself agree with his ideas about the wizarding world. Especially when it comes to half-breeds."

"I was hoping you'd say that. Now, we have been on the run for over a year. After our first unsuccessful attempt at obtaining the Hallows, we chose to lay low for a while."

"You know where all of the Hallows are? You said Potter's got them?"

"Two of them," Jarrett corrected him, "We thought we knew where all three were, but we were wrong about the Elder Wand. Well, Potter could be lying to us. That's entirely possible. But even if he does not currently have it in his possession, I am sure he knows where it is. The Invisibility Cloak is currently in possession of Harry Potter's middle child, Albus. The Resurrection Stone is residing in the forest next to Hogwarts, although I am not sure where."

"Interesting," Lubar mused, "But what do you need me to do?"

"I'm getting to that. Recently, my son and I came up with a plan to obtain the Invisibility Cloak. My son was to lure Albus Potter out of school by capturing his cousin. To make a long story short, it ended in a duel between my son and Harry Potter. Potter captured him and he now resides in Azkaban," Jarrett seethed.

"That sounds like an absolutely abysmal plan. Did you actually believe Potter's kid wouldn't tell him his cousin was captured?"

"We kind of hoped so-"

"Shut up. The point is, that was a horrible plan, and now your son is in prison."

"Yes," Jarrett sighed, "And I was kind of hoping you could help get him out."

Lubar stared at him and then smirked. "Me? Help get your son out of prison? How in the name of Merlin do you suppose I'll be able to do that?"

"Well, you're a high ranking Ministry official, you must have a lot of influence in these kinds of things," Jarrett stammered.

"I am a high ranking Ministry official in Australia, not Britain," Lubar laughed, "Why do you think I have any influence over there?"

"But don't you keep in contact with Britain's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?" Jarrett asked.

Lubar laughed. "I do not contact Britain's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. My opinions are vastly different from those in Britain. I would not want to associate myself with the blokes there. Plus, my name is mud with the British Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

Jarrett looked curiously at Lubar. "That is hard to believe. What did you possibly do to make them dislike you?"

"That, is a very long story," Lubar replied, "The old head of my department was a very liberal man. He sympathized with werewolves and disliked any sort of strict legislation dealing with them. His reason for this was because his own son is a werewolf."

"Really?"

"Yes. Anyway, he was fired after he broke one of the werewolf laws. Then I became head of the department and passed more laws. He hated me. He moved his family to Britain, where he got a job in Werewolf Support Services. Turns out, he was planning on moving anyway, even before he got fired. He wanted his werewolf kid to attend school. The headmaster of the Australian School of Sorcery obviously did not let him attend. The Hogwarts headmaster did. As far as I know, he's there now. Once there, he made sure everyone in his department knew my name and what I believed. They do not speak kindly of me."

Jarrett rubbed his chin. "Interesting. So there's a werewolf at Hogwarts? Quinton never told me anything about that."

"He probably doesn't know," Lubar smirked, "I tend to doubt that the werewolf would announce it to the whole school."

"Do you know the werewolf's name?" Jarrett asked.

"Don't remember his first name. Last name's Eckerton."

Jarrett thought for a moment and then his eyes popped out of his head. "Eckerton?! Quinton's mentioned that kid. He's one of the ones we dueled with last year! He's friends with Potter's kid."

"Really?" Lubar smirked, "How interesting."

"Yes, extremely interesting," Jarrett rolled his eyes, "Potter's kid befriended a werewolf. Thrilling, really. Now, can you help get Quinton out of Azkaban or not."

"Talk like that and I won't help you," Lubar muttered.

Jarrett's eyes lit up. "So you can help?"

"Possibly," Lubar said, "But I could most certainly help you get the Hallows."

"And how would you do that?"

"First, I give you advice," Lubar began, "You're going about this all wrong. Your first priority should have been the Resurrection Stone, not that Invisibility Cloak. Yes, the Stone will be difficult to find, but nobody currently owns it. It's sitting in the bush. You've got to search that bush and get that Stone. Then, you use the Stone."

"Use it?"

"Yes, use it!" Lubar shouted, "Honestly, I don't know what my cousin sees in you. But anyway, use it to talk to Voldemort!"

"Oh, right."

"Then, you ask Voldemort what happened to the Elder Wand!" Lubar continued, "That thing is the best Hallow. The Cloak is the least useful. Anyone can make themselves invisible with a Disillusionment Charm. You've got to get that wand and stone first."

"Oh, I'll get looking for the Stone," Jarrett muttered.

"Good," Lubar replied, "And I'll go to Britain and help you."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I'll make sure you do it properly. And I can check up on that werewolf kid," Lubar sneered.

"What about the Ministry? I thought they hated you."

"They do," Lubar said, "But I can come up with a good reason to be at Hogwarts this year."

"What might that be?"

"I cannot explain in detail. There is an event happening at Hogwarts this year. Students from Australia are participating. I have reasons to be there."

"Shall I wait for you to search for the Stone?"

"Yes," Lubar said, "I'll make sure you don't screw it up. And perhaps, while I'm there, we can work out some way to break your idiot son out of Azkaban."

"Thanks," Jarrett muttered.

"Just remember, you owe me for this."
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A/N: I love it when editing takes less time than I thought! Big thanks to my beta, Dancer_of_Starlight, who also named this story.

This story is more intertwined with In Moonlight's Shadow than my other Albus stories have been. People who have already read IMS will know this now that they've read the prologue. I suggest anyone who hasn't read IMS read it, although you'll still be able to understand this story if you don't.

I may be switching my update days to Wednesdays because I'm quite busy on Thursdays. It'll depend on how the semester goes.

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Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.
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Albus Severus Potter awoke to a high pitched shriek. He sat up quickly in bed and listened. It was coming from downstairs and sounded exactly like his little sister, Lily. He groaned and got out of bed. It would be pointless for him to try and go back to sleep.

Lily had been impossible to deal with ever since Albus returned home from Hogwarts. She was incredibly excited about the fact that she was going to go to Hogwarts in the fall. Therefore, Lily had been constantly asking Albus about Hogwarts and the questions were usually ones Albus did not know the answer to or did not want to answer.

Albus quickly changed his clothes and ran downstairs. It was a mystery as to what Lily was shrieking about now. His mum probably told her some new piece of information about Hogwarts.

"Al!" Lily shoved a piece of parchment in Albus's face, "It came! It came! My Hogwarts letter came!"

So that was what the shrieking was about, Albus thought. Lily had been waiting for that letter all summer. Every morning she'd watch the window waiting for the post owl to arrive.

"Congratulations, Lily," Albus grinned at her and continued his walk down to the kitchen. Lily ran ahead of him and was literally dancing around the room by the time Albus arrived.

"Lily!" James shouted, "One does not shriek and dance like a lunatic when one receives their Hogwarts letter."

"Oh, really, James?" Ginny smirked at him, "Weren't you the one to stand on top of the table and do some sort of dance?"

James blushed. "Er, no."

"Oh, don't be ashamed, James," Albus grinned as he sat down next to his brother, "At least you didn't shriek like a girl."

"Yeah, that was you," James laughed.

"I did not!" Albus shouted, "I acted perfectly normal!"

"Normal for a girl," James replied.

"Stop it, James," Ginny scolded as she set a bowl of oatmeal and a few envelopes in front of Albus, "You got some post as well, Al."

Albus picked up the pile of letters and opened the top one. It was the usual book list as well as his Hogsmeade permission slip. "Here, Mum," he handed her the slip, "You'll have to sign that."

Ginny took the parchment. "I can't believe you're a third year, Al. You're growing up so fast."

"Mum!" Albus groaned.

"I can't believe it either," James sighed, "Ickle Al is getting so big!"

"James!" Albus smacked him.

"Mum, Al hit me!" James shouted.

"Behave yourselves, boys," Ginny said without looking at them.

Albus opened the other envelope. It was from Matt.

Dear Albus,

My parents said you could come visit
on the 16th for a few days. They're
going to take us to Diagon Alley too.
Let me know if you can come!

Your friend,
Matt

"Mum!" Albus shouted, "Can I go to Matt's house on the 16th?"

Ginny read the letter over Albus's shoulder. "Sure. We'll meet you in Diagon Alley and get James and Lily's stuff then."

Albus grinned. He was very excited about going to Matt's house. He had never been there. He hoped that John and Kaden would be able to go as well. They hadn't seen each other in about a month, when Albus and Rose had had their birthday party.

"Thanks, Mum."

"Mum!" Lily whined, "I wanted to go to Diagon Alley today!"

"Sorry, Lily," Ginny replied, "I'd rather get everyone's supplies at once."

"I don't want to wait!"

"Lily, you have to wait," Ginny sighed.

Albus turned to James and they smirked at each other. Lily still hadn't grown out of her whiny phase. It got rather annoying. Albus hoped that she wouldn't be like that at Hogwarts.

******

The next few days passed very slowly. Albus was anxious to get away from Lily. She asked him no less than fifty times how the sorting was done and Albus replied with fifty 'I can't tell yous'.

Eventually the sixteenth arrived and Albus sat in the drawing room waiting for Matt and his parents to show up. Kaden was with him. He had arrived a few hours earlier and they had spent their time trying to stay away from Lily.

"You know, Kaden, you were as irritating as Lily a year ago," Albus pointed out.

"Was not," Kaden replied, "And I've matured."

"Yeah, sure," Albus rolled his eyes.

The two boys looked up when they heard a loud crack. Matt's entire family had Apparated into the drawing room. Ginny walked into the room and greeted Matt's parents.

"Matt!" Albus grinned, "I am so glad to see you. I can't wait to get away from Lily."

"Oh, Al, be nice," Ginny sighed.

"What? She's irritating," Albus shrugged, "Bye, Mum."

"Goodbye, Al, I'll see you in a few days," she gave Albus a hug.

"All right," Mr. Eckerton said, "Albus, you can Apparate with Amy. Kaden, you can Apparate with my wife."

Albus nodded and stepped over to Amy. She wrapped him in a hug and the two of them disappeared with a crack.

They reappeared in the middle of a large field. There was a log house in the distance.

"This doesn't look like a house," Kaden announced as he stepped away from Matt's mum.

"It's not," Matt said as he pointed to the log house, "That's my house."

"Oh," Kaden replied as they started towards the house, "Why didn't we just Apparate into it?"

"My parents put anti-Apparition wards on the house," Matt explained.

"Why?" Kaden asked.

"I don't want to get into it," Matt muttered.

Kaden groaned. "I thought you were done keeping secrets from me."

"There are some things I don't tell anyone, Kaden," Matt sighed.

Albus smirked and shook his head. Some things never change. Kaden still didn't know how to keep his mouth shut.

Matt's house was the only one in the area. Albus couldn't see any other buildings besides a shed behind the house. There were fields surrounding the house and a low fence surrounding the property. Beyond the fence was farmland.

Matt's dad unlocked the door and Albus followed him inside. He stopped in the entryway and looked around. The place was about as different as a house could be from Grimmauld Place. It was open and airy and decorated in a modern yet rustic way. From the doorway, Albus could see the kitchen straight ahead, the dining room next to it, and the living room next to the door. On the other side of the door was a set of stairs leading upstairs. Albus continued walking into the living room and saw a corridor next to the kitchen that lead to a few more rooms. Albus liked it instantly. It had a homey feel to it like the Burrow did. Except it was much cleaner. Matt had said his mum was kind of a neat freak, but Albus wasn't expecting it to be this neat.

"Great house, Matt," Albus grinned.

"Yeah," Kaden agreed, "But it's too neat. We're going to have to change that."

"My mum likes it neat," Matt said, "She'll make you clean up whatever you mess up."

"I'll go get John now," Mr. Eckerton announced, "You can come, Matt. I'll be able to Apparate both of you."

"Ok. I'll be right back, Albus," Matt said and left the house with his dad.

"You can just wait in the living room," Mrs. Eckerton gestured for Albus and Kaden to turn to their left.

Albus nodded and sat down on one of the couches. It was quite comfortable. Kaden sat down next to him and put his feet up on the coffee table, earning a stern gaze from Mrs. Eckerton. Kaden sheepishly removed his feet from the table.

Amy sat down on a chair and pulled a book off the table. She opened it and began reading. It was some sort of potions book.

Kaden tilted his head and read the title. "Do you like potions?" he asked.

"Yeah," Amy replied, "I'm studying to be a Healer."

"That's great!" Kaden exclaimed, "I like potions too. Albus thinks I'm insane. Well, so do Matt and John."

"There aren't many people who appreciate brewing," Amy replied, "But I'm glad you like it."

"Me, too," Kaden said.

Amy set her book down. "So, Albus, how has your summer been?"

"Good," Albus said, "Well, Lily is driving me mad because she got her Hogwarts letter the other day."

"I still remember when I got my letter to the Australian School of Sorcery-"

"The what?" Kaden asked.

"The Australian School of Sorcery," Amy repeated, "The school of magic in Australia. I went there for three years. Then we moved here."

"You lived in Australia?" Kaden gaped.

"Er, yeah," Amy looked at him strangely, "You didn't know that?"

"Nope. Matt never told me," Kaden turned to Albus, "Did he tell you?"

"Yeah, my first year," Albus replied, "I never really noticed that he didn't tell you."

"Well, he didn't," Kaden muttered, "But it would explain the funny accent he's got."

Albus stifled his laughter. "Er, yeah."

The three of them sat quietly for another few minutes. Kaden began to laugh and it became louder and louder until Albus turned to look at him.

"What?" Albus asked.

"The Australian School of Sorcery," Kaden laughed, "A, S, S. Ass!"

Albus groaned. Leave it to Kaden to figure that out.

Amy laughed. "You know, that's what Teddy said when he first heard about it."

The front door opened and Matt and John ran inside followed by Mr. Eckerton. John paused in the entryway and looked around.

"Whoa," he grinned, "This house is bloody brilliant!"

"Thanks," Matt said and the two of them entered the living room. "What are you three laughing at?"

"My old school," Amy smirked, "Kaden figured out its acronym."

"Oh, ASS," Matt laughed, "Yeah, I laughed about that for days when I figured it out."

"Well, I've got to get to work," Amy stood up, "I'll try and stop by for dinner sometime this week."

"Bye, Amy," Mr. Eckerton gave her a hug.

"Bye, Dad."

"So, I'll show you the upstairs," Matt said after Amy left.

Albus grabbed his bag and followed Matt upstairs. John and Kaden thundered behind them. Once they reached the top, Matt led them to the door on the left along the back wall.

"This is my room," Matt announced as they entered.

Albus stepped inside and looked around. The carpet was blue and the walls were white. It was messier than the rest of the house, but nowhere near as messy as James's room. There was a Chudley Cannons bedspread on the bed and multiple posters on the wall.

"Nice bed," John smirked, "Nice to see the Cannons can still sell merchandise. If only they devoted that effort to their playing...."

"Shut it, John," Matt replied, "The Cannons have been playing better this season."

"Oh, yeah, they did get three goals in their game against Puddlemere," John said, "Too bad Puddlemere had a hundred times that many goals."

Matt groaned. "Come on, I'll show you the other rooms."

Albus followed Matt out of the room and down the corridor. The next door was a bathroom and the one after that was Amy's room. The last door was alongside a different wall and Matt gestured for them to step inside.

"This is the library," Matt announced, "We'll be sleeping here."

"Sounds like Rose's dream come true," John laughed.

The library was twice the size of Matt's room. Bookshelves covered all the walls and there were a few desks sitting in the middle of the room. A squashy looking couch was sitting below one of the windows and there were a few armchairs in various places. There were also four cots in the middle, but Albus doubted they were normally there.

Albus tossed his bag down on a cot as John and Kaden did the same. Kaden started wandering around the room and looking at the various books.

"I don't think I've ever been in a house with this many books," Kaden said.

"There's even more in Dad's study."

"You should see Rose's house," Albus commented.

"You've got a lot of books about magical creatures," Kaden pointed out.

"Yeah, well, that's what Dad's into."

"Especially werewolves," Kaden went on, "There's a whole row of them."

"Yeah, you can probably guess why," Matt mumbled.

"So," Albus changed the subject, "How was your trip to New York?"

The discomfort that had been on Matt's face moments before disappeared. "It was brilliant! We had so much fun."

"And how was the airplane?" John asked eagerly.

Matt laughed. "Just like every other one I've been on."

"Anything else new with anyone?" Albus asked.

"Bethany thinks she's a witch," Kaden announced, "She found a stick outside and has been pretending to cast spells."

"Bet your grandpa loved that," Albus laughed.

"He turned a lovely shade of purple," Kaden laughed.

"I'd pay to see that," John replied.

Albus and Kaden laughed. "I wouldn't suggest being anywhere near my Uncle Vernon when he turns purple," Albus put in.

"Did I tell you that my dad's getting a promotion?" Matt asked.

Albus turned to him. "Nope. What kind of promotion?"

"The head of the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is retiring at the end of the year," Matt explained, "And he's recommending my dad for the position. It's not final, but it'll most likely happen."

"That old bloke is finally retiring?" Albus asked, "He's been there for decades."

"Yeah. Dad wasn't sure he wanted the promotion, but after thinking about it, he decided to take it if it's offered to him," Matt continued.

"Why wouldn't he want it?" John asked.

"Well, that's what he did in Australia. And he hated it towards the end. But he thinks it'll be better up here."

"From what you've told us, everything is better up here," Albus said.

"What does your dad do now?" Kaden asked.

"He works in Werewolf Support Services."

Kaden nodded. "You know, that is kind of funny, considering...."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. The general public didn't really think it was that funny when we were living in Australia."

"And that's why you moved?" Kaden asked.

"Pretty much, yeah," Matt said quietly, "But I like Hogwarts, so I don't really care that we had to move."

"How about you, Albus?" John asked, "Anything exciting happening in the most famous wizarding family?"

Albus rolled his eyes. If anyone besides his friends referred to his family that way, he probably would have hexed them.

"Actually," Albus began, surprised that he had momentarily forgotten about it, "I do have some interesting news about the Hogwarts staff."

"What is it?" John asked eagerly, "Is Slughorn finally retiring for good?"

"No," Albus laughed, "I don't think that will ever happen."

"Then what is it?" Matt asked.

"My dad's not teaching Defense this year," Albus answered. Harry had broken the news to Albus, James, and Lily a few weeks ago. Albus was disappointed, but not really surprised. He had been surprised that Harry had stayed for more than a year.

Matt, John, and Kaden gaped at him. "What?" John asked, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Albus nodded.

"Why?" Matt asked, "He's a brilliant teacher."

"He thinks he needs to focus more on his Auror job," Albus explained, "He wants to fully devote his time to finding Willinson and Washburn."

"Oh, well, that makes sense," Matt replied.

"Who's replacing him?" John asked.

"Dunno," Albus shrugged, "Dad didn't tell me. He said he wants me to develop my own opinions of the teacher."

"I wonder if we'll ever have the exact same staff for two years in a row," John commented, "I mean, first year they were all new to us. Last year we got Cedonia. And this year we've got some new Defense teacher."

"I just hope whoever the new teacher is, that they're nice," Matt said, "So what do you lot want to do? We've got a few hours until dinner."

"Hmm," Albus mused, "Want to play Quidditch? That field would be excellent for it."

Matt groaned. "That's the one thing we can't do. The Muggle farmer is often out tending to his fields and he'd see us."

"I've got an idea," Kaden grinned mischievously and dug around in his bag. He pulled out a football. "Let's play football."

The boys decided it was as good an idea as any and they ran downstairs. Albus had limited experience with football. He had watched a couple matches and played it a few times, but that was it. He didn't think John had ever played and he wasn't sure about Matt. John was skeptical about the fun of football, but he was willing to give it a try.

"Where are you boys going?" Mrs. Eckerton shouted from the kitchen as they ran to the back door.

"We're going to play football," Matt said as he pulled the door open.

"Be careful!" Mrs. Eckerton replied.

Albus followed Matt down the deck stairs and into the field. He stood next to Matt and John and all three of them turned to Kaden, who had set the ball on the ground and had one foot on it.

"Have any of you played football before?" Kaden asked.

"A few times," Albus answered.

"Nope," John said.

"When I was younger, I played a bit," Matt replied, "But I was never any good."

Kaden sighed. "All right. Why don't we just play two on two. John and I versus Albus and Matt."

The other three boys nodded. Kaden pointed out two different trees that would serve as makeshift goals. He next explained the rules of the game and they began playing.

Albus found the concept very similar to that of his Chaser position in Quidditch, only he couldn't use his hands. That was very odd. He had trouble keeping the ball near his feet and even more trouble aiming it to Matt. Half the time Kaden would steal it and he wouldn't even get a chance to pass it.

John was hardly any better than Albus. He never managed to kick the ball where he aimed it, but Kaden's superior skill seemed to compensate for John's lack of skill. The two of them (well, Kaden) had scored more goals than Albus and Matt.

Matt seemed to be able to aim the ball, but he wound up tripping over it a lot. He did manage to score a few goals, though.

All in all, Albus thought it was kind of fun. It wasn't something he desired to be on an official team of, but it was fun to play informally. Not nearly as exciting as Quidditch, though.

"John!" Albus shouted as John picked up the ball and took off across the field, "You can't touch the ball!"

"I'm turning the game into Quidditch-football!" John shouted and threw the ball at the goal, "See, we've got another point now!"

Kaden groaned and kicked the ball back into play. "That's cheating, John! And we're winning, so we don't need to cheat!"

"I don't care!" John grinned and picked the ball up again.

Kaden tackled John and tried to wrestle the ball out of his arms. John tried to escape, but Kaden was holding onto his leg.

"Now it's Quidditch-football-wrestling," Albus said to Matt as the two of them walked towards their wrestling friends.

"Albus! Help! Your cousin is Muggle dueling with me!"

"Well, we are playing a Muggle sport, John," Albus smirked and yanked the football out of his hands.

"Hey!" Kaden shouted and grabbed Albus's leg, "Give that back!"

Albus stumbled and fell onto the ground. He held the ball out of Kaden's reach and Kaden tackled him. John, now free of Kaden's wrath, grabbed Matt's leg and pulled him into the mix.

"Hey!" Matt shouted, "I didn't take the football!"

"Doesn't matter," John grinned, "We're not going to let you stand there while we're Muggle dueling each other."

"Got it!" Kaden shouted a few minutes later. He held the football up over his head. "And I declare John and I the winners!"

Albus stood up and shook his head. John and Matt stood up after him. John looked quite triumphant at the win, even though he hadn't really contributed to it.

"Congratulations," Matt smirked, "You beat a clumsy wizard and a Chaser at football."

"Any win is a good win," Kaden grinned.

"Boys!" Mrs. Eckerton shouted from the window, "Dinner is ready!"

Albus grinned as he walked towards the house. As much as he enjoyed his own house, it was fun to spend a few days with Matt and his other friends. Plus, the girls weren't there. They had never really had time away from Rose and Amanda and it was kind of fun. Not that he didn't enjoy their company, there were just things they couldn't really do around Rose and Amanda. Like turn a football match into a wrestling match, for example.

"What did you boys do?" Mrs. Eckerton exclaimed as they entered the house, "You're filthy! I want you all to go shower before you eat!"

"Just like home," Kaden commented, "You're a lot like my mum."

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment," Mrs. Eckerton smiled.
________________________________________


A/N: Thanks to my beta, Dancer_of_Starlight! Thanks so much to everyone for reading and for your wonderful reviews! You make my day when you leave reviews! Also, I will be updating on Wednesdays from now on, they're just easier this semester.

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Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.
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Dinner with Matt's parents was interesting. Mealtimes at Albus's house were always chaotic and never really planned in great detail. It seemed like one of his parents was always coming or going. Then there was the fact that at least one of his cousins or Teddy always seemed to be showing up partway through the meal. But Albus didn't really mind. He kind of liked the chaos that was his family.

Mealtimes at Matt's house, on the other hand, seemed more formal and planned. His mum and house elf, Ellie, cooked a lavish spread and served it on fancier dishes than Albus's family had. And Matt didn't have any relatives to randomly drop in. Albus enjoyed it, though. The formality of it didn't faze Kaden in the least and he dominated the conversation, which centered around Hogwarts, Quidditch, and football.

The boys spent the evening in the den playing round after round of Exploding Snap. Since Rose wasn't there, they all had a chance of winning. Matt's parents joined in for a few rounds and once they left, Albus and his friends talked about the upcoming school year. John and Kaden agreed that they needed to pull a few marauderesque pranks, but Albus and Matt were a bit reluctant. The job of school pranksters was currently held by James and his friends and Albus really didn't want everyone to think he was a just like his brother.

Eventually, Mrs. Eckerton returned to the room and told them they needed to get to bed. Albus followed Matt up the stairs and into the library. They all changed into pajamas, but they didn't go to bed. Their conversations continued until Mrs. Eckerton knocked on the door and told them they had to go to bed.

"Albus?" Matt whispered a few minutes later, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," Albus whispered back.

"I'm really glad you came," Matt replied.

"Me, too," Albus said.

"You three are the first friends I've ever had over here," Matt said quietly, "I never really thought it would ever happen."

Albus really didn't know what to say to that. He knew Matt had had a lonely childhood until going to Hogwarts, but the fact that he had never had friends over to his house before never crossed his mind.

"Well, I'll definitely want to come back," Albus decided to say.

"Thanks," Matt said, "Well, good night."

"'Night."

Albus fell asleep quickly to the muffled sound of Kaden's snoring. But what seemed like a short while later, he awoke again to the sound of somebody's whispering.

"Kaden," someone whispered, "Kaden!"

"Wh-what is it?" Kaden yawned.

"Are you hungry?" Albus recognized John's voice.

"Erm, a little, I guess," Kaden replied.

"Want to go find some food?" John asked.

"Sure."

Albus listened as John and Kaden got up from their cots and crept out of the room. There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and then quiet.

Albus leaned over his cot and poked Matt. "Matt!" he whispered, "Get up!"

Matt rolled over and Albus groaned. It was always so difficult to wake him up. "Matt!" Albus shouted a little louder.

Matt rolled over again and mumbled something incoherent. Albus poked him a little harder and he finally opened his eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"John and Kaden went to get a snack," Albus told him. Albus didn't know what kind of snack the two of them were going to get, but he had a feeling they wouldn't make it simple. John and Kaden were known to come up with some pretty mad ideas when they were together, especially when they didn't have Albus or Matt to counteract them.

"All right," Matt groaned and got out of his cot, "Let's go."

Albus got up and the two of them quietly left the room and went down to the kitchen. The light was on, but Albus couldn't hear anything going on. That could either be a good sign or a bad sign.

When the kitchen came into view, Albus saw John and Kaden rummaging around in the refrigerator.

"We could combine this with that," Kaden was saying.

"That is disgusting," John commented, "But brilliant."

John and Kaden emerged from the refrigerator carrying various containers. They set them down on the counter and then turned around.

"Oh, hey Albus and Matt!" John grinned, "Want any of our midnight snack?"

"Depends on what it is," Albus smiled wryly and sat down on one of the counter stools, "If you think something is both disgusting and brilliant, I'll bet it's really disgusting."

"Oh, come on, Albus," Kaden grinned, "Mashed potatoes and chocolate cake would be a good combination."

"Oh, nasty!" Matt grimaced and sat down next to Albus.

"It's only nasty if you forget the ketchup," John replied.

Even the idea of a combination like that made Albus want to vomit. It sounded like some sort of new Bertie Bott's flavor.

"No thanks," Albus said.

"Your loss," Kaden shrugged and opened the container of potatoes.

"So, if you're not down here to eat our delicious food, what are you here for?" John asked as he dumped the cake into the potatoes.

"To supervise you," Matt replied, "I can't let the two of you cook unsupervised in my kitchen."

"Oh, relax," John grinned.

Albus watched as Kaden stirred the potatoes and cake combination. It actually didn't look that bad. Almost like some sort of strange pudding. Albus was sure the ketchup would negate any sort of potential edibility, though.

"Hey, what's this thing?" John gestured to a black box that was attached to the bottom of the cupboards along the wall. He pushed a few buttons and the whole thing lit up inside and started whirring.

Albus stared at it. He vaguely remembered seeing something like it at some of his cousins' houses, but he couldn't ever recall using it.

"It's a microwave," Matt jumped off his stool and pushed a button on it. It stopped whirring and turned dark again. "And you can't turn it on when it's empty."

John stared at it. "What's it do? What's the point?"

"It cooks food," Matt explained, "Faster than an oven."

"Oh," John shrugged and picked up a fork that was sitting on the counter. He put it in the microwave and went to turn it on.

Matt grabbed his arm. "You can't put metal in it! It'll break!"

Albus smirked. And John said he didn't need supervision. He definitely did, especially since there were Muggle appliances everywhere.

"Well that's stupid," John replied and took the fork out.

Matt shrugged. "It's Muggle technology."

"Why's it in here then?" John asked.

"Came with the house. And my mum likes Muggle technology for cooking."

"Oh," John said and turned to Kaden, who had begun pouring ketchup in the mixture, "Let's put the whole thing in the microwave!"

Matt groaned and turned to Albus. "This won't turn out good."

Albus laughed. "Probably not. But Kaden's Muggle born, so I'm pretty sure he knows how to work the microwave."

"Good point," Matt said, "John! Let Kaden do the microwaving."

"Aw," John sighed, "It looks fun."

Kaden took the bowl and put it in the microwave. He turned it on and Albus watched as the bowl turned around and around on the inside plate. It was rather clever, he thought. Almost like magic. It seemed like a magic box that cooked food in record time.

A minute or so later, the microwave beeped, which caused John to jump. "Bloody hell!" he shouted, "What was that?"

"It means it's done," Kaden laughed and took the bowl out, "Who wants to try it?"

"Me!" John shouted and grabbed a few spoons off the counter.

"No way," Albus shook his head. The mixture in the bowl was the consistency of pudding, but was a strange reddish brown color that was absolutely disgusting looking.

"Me either," Matt said, "Just the smell of that grosses me out."

John took a whiff and grinned. "Smells good!"

"Oh, gross!" Matt covered his mouth.

"You look a bit green," Albus said to Matt.

"Good thing he's not having any," Kaden took a huge spoonful and stuffed it in his mouth.

Albus watched as Kaden swallowed the food. He was actually smiling when he had finished. Matt really looked like he was going to vomit after watching Kaden eat it.

"Delicious!" Kaden grinned.

"Kaden, that is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen you eat," Albus announced.

John tried it next and pronounced it delicious as well. Albus and Matt just stared at each other and tried not to watch as John and Kaden polished off the rest of the concoction.

"Are you done yet?" Matt asked, "The smell of it is really getting to me."

"Almost," John said.

"Done," Kaden replied.

"You'd better wash the bowls out," Matt said.

Kaden nodded and began to wash the dishes. John returned to the refrigerator and started rummaging around again.

"You're not still hungry, are you?" Albus asked.

"Not really," John shrugged, "Just looking."

He closed the refrigerator and went back over to the microwave. He stuck something in it, pushed a few buttons, and it lit up and started whirring again.

"What did you put in there?" Matt asked suspiciously.

"Er," John stammered, "Well, I just kind of wanted something else to eat-"

"I thought you weren't hungry," Albus pointed out.

"I wasn't, but then I got an idea and I thought I'd make an egg-"

"AN EGG?!" Matt shouted as he jumped up, "Did you put an egg in the microwave?"

"Er, yes," John said, "Why?"

"Because eggs-"

Matt never got to finish his sentence. A loud pop came from the microwave before he could continue. He quickly turned the thing off and glared at John. John was grinning and looking at the microwave.

"Explode in microwaves," Matt finished.

"Oh, er, sorry," John said, trying not to laugh.

"That's brilliant!" Kaden grinned and opened the microwave, "I've always wanted to try that!"

Albus stood behind Matt and looked into the microwave. The inside was covered in egg yolk, white, and shell. It was a complete mess, yet kind of funny at the same time.

Matt groaned, "I can't believe you did that. Well, ok, I can. I told you not to touch the microwave."

"Sorry," John shrugged, "I'll clean it up."

"Clean what up?"

Albus turned around and saw Matt's parents standing in the entrance to the kitchen. Both of them looked half asleep.

"John decided to put an egg in the microwave," Matt explained.

Mr. Eckerton burst out laughing and his wife glared at him. "I did the same thing when we first moved here," Mr. Eckerton grinned.

"See?" John said, "I'm not the only one!"

"I know," Matt sighed, "At least I caught you before you put the fork in there."

"Do I even want to know what you boys were doing down here?" Mrs. Eckerton asked.

"John and Kaden wanted a snack," Matt replied, "So they made a disgusting combination of mashed potatoes, chocolate cake, and ketchup. They liked it, but Albus and I thought it was vile. Just the smell of it made me sick."

Mrs. Eckerton groaned. "Well, just clean up the microwave and go back bed."

"Ok, Mum," Matt replied.

"You have to admit that was funny, Julie," Mr. Eckerton laughed.

"Yes, I do actually find it funny that you made the same mistake five years ago, and now John did it and he's a thirteen year old boy," Mrs. Eckerton smirked.

"How was I supposed to know eggs exploded in the microwave?" Mr. Eckerton asked as they stared back towards the stairs.

"You should have taken Muggle Studies," Mrs. Eckerton said.

Albus, Matt, and Kaden waited while John cleaned the microwave. It didn't take him long and soon the four of them returned to their cots in the library. Albus fell asleep thinking about what Rose would say when he told her John exploded an egg in Matt's microwave.

******

"What do you want to do?" Albus asked the next day. The boys were all sitting in the den throwing a Quaffle around.

"Let's microwave random stuff," John suggested.

"No way," Matt replied.

Matt's parents had officially banned them from cooking for the remainder of the visit. Albus found this rather funny, especially the looks on John and Kaden's faces when they were told they couldn't cook. The two of them spent a good twenty minutes trying to find a loophole in the rule.

"Do wizards play hide and seek?" Kaden asked.

"That was random," Albus commented, "But yes, wizards do play hide and seek."

"I play it with my cousins all the time," John said.

"Me, too," Albus said. He loved games of hide and seek at the Burrow. There were excellent places to hide there.

"We should play it," Kaden announced, "It's always boring to play it at my house because the only one there to play it with is Bethany. And she never hides in good places."

"That's what Amy said about me when I was little," Matt said, "I would always hide in the same place."

"Ok, let's play," John stood up, "The couch in here can be home and we can hide anywhere in the house."

"Sounds good. But no going outside," Matt agreed, "Who's it?"

"Albus," John said.

Albus shrugged. He always liked being it. "All right. You lot can all go hide and I'll count to 100."

Albus closed his eyes and started counting. He heard the footsteps of his friends disappear as he got closer to 100. Usually, one of his older cousins was it whenever he played hide and seek. Albus rarely got to be it.

"Ready or not, here I come!" he shouted and looked around the den. The den would be the perfect spot for hiding because it was close to the home couch. But there weren't very many places to hide in it.

Albus walked quietly over to the one closet that was in the room. He pulled it open and looked inside. Empty. He left the room and looked down the corridor. The bathroom, he thought, that would be a good hiding place. Albus himself hid in the bathtub on numerous occasions.

He stepped into the bathroom and sure enough, the shower curtain was pulled shut. Albus yanked it open and saw John laying in the tub.

"Got you," Albus grinned.

"Merlin, this is always a good spot!" John groaned as he got out of the tub.

"Yeah, which is why it's always where I hide," Albus grinned, "Come on, you can help me search for Matt and Kaden."

Albus and John left the bathroom and resumed the search. Albus really didn't feel comfortable searching in Matt's dad's study, so they left it alone. Albus figured no one would hide in there anyway. They searched the rest of the downstairs, looking in every nook and cranny and closet. But Matt and Kaden were no where to be found.

Next they went upstairs and searched all the bedrooms except Matt's parents'. The library and bathroom were searched as well, but still no luck. The game was reminding Albus of the ones he played at the Burrow. James was always impossible to find. Although one time he got a broom and decided to hover above the house to hide. No one found him for hours and then the adults made a 'no flying' rule for hide and seek.

"Where are they?" John said as they searched the library for the second time, "We've searched the entire house!"

"Not the basement," Albus pointed out.

"Good idea," John agreed.

Albus and John ran down the stairs and towards the basement. They opened the door and ran down another flight of stairs. Albus flipped on the light and the two of them began to look around. Matt had showed them the basement earlier, when he showed them Amy's potion brewing room.

John checked the potion brewing room while Albus looked in the main part of the basement that seemed to be a combination storage area and den. Still nothing. The basement was perfectly quiet, too.

"What about that room?" John pointed to a room at the back of the basement.

"Matt said it was just storage," Albus replied, "I doubt either of them are in there. Plus, it's so quiet. We'd hear some sort of movement. No one's down here."

"Then where are they?" John asked.

"Maybe they made it to the couch," Albus suggested.

Albus and John returned the den and Matt was laying on the couch. He grinned and sat up when Albus and John entered the room.

Albus gaped at Matt. "Where were you hiding? We didn't even see you run in here!"

"I was in that closet," Matt pointed to the closet Albus had searched earlier.

"But I checked that as soon as I finished counting!" Albus groaned, "And no one was in there!"

"There's a smaller door in there that leads to a smaller closet," Matt got up off the couch and walked over to the closet. "Look," he opened the door.

Matt pulled back a few coats that were hanging up and Albus noticed a very tiny door in the wall. Matt opened it and revealed a tiny closet that was just big enough for a small person to climb into.

"See?" Matt grinned.

"You had an unfair advantage," John said, "You know stuff about this house that we don't."

"Well, when we play at your house, then you'll have an advantage."

"My house doesn't have any little secret closets," John muttered.

"What's that for anyway?" Albus asked.

"Dunno," Matt shrugged and looked around the room, "Hey, where's Kaden? Didn't you find him?"

"Nope," Albus replied. He never would have thought that Kaden would be this good at hide and seek.

"We'd better go find him," John said.

"Wonder why he hasn't tried to run to the couch," Albus said as they left the room.

"No idea," Matt said, "But with Kaden, it could be anything."

The boys searched the entire house twice, but they still couldn't find Kaden. He was the ultimate hide and seek player, Albus thought. He could even give James lessons.

"Where the ruddy hell is he?" John shouted as they walked down the stairs.

"I wonder if he'll ever even come out if we don't find him," Albus said.

"He'll come out once he's hungry," Matt pointed out.

"What are you boys doing?" Mrs. Eckerton asked. She was sitting on the couch reading a book in the living room.

"Playing hide and seek," Matt replied and sat down on a chair, "But we can't find Kaden."

"Did you look outside?" Mrs. Eckerton asked as she set down her book.

"Outside was off limits," John said.

"We've searched the house twice just now," Matt said, "And Albus and John searched it twice before that. We've looked everywhere."

"Everywhere?" Mrs. Eckerton raised her eyebrows, "Even in the basement?"

Matt's face paled. "Oh, Merlin! Not the entire basement!"

"You'd better go check," Mrs. Eckerton said.

Matt jumped off the couch and ran towards the basement door. Albus shrugged at John as they followed. He didn't have a clue as to why Matt was so nervous about Kaden hiding in the basement. Plus, Albus and John checked the basement. Except that storage room. But why would that make Matt nervous? What was in it?

Albus ran down the stairs and followed Matt. Sure enough, Matt went straight to the storage room.

"Merlin!" Matt muttered and paused in front of the door, "Why did he hide in here?"

"Er, are you ok?" Albus asked.

Matt sighed, but didn't answer. He put his hand on the doorknob and slowly opened it.

Albus gaped as he saw what was in the room. Well, what wasn't in it. The room was completely empty and had no windows. But the strangest part was that it was padded. The floor and walls were completely covered with what looked like mattresses.

"Is that?" John asked, "A padded room?"

"Hey!" Kaden, who was running around and literally bouncing off the walls, ran over to them, "Took you long enough! Matt, why didn't you tell us you had a padded room in your house? This is brilliant!"

Albus didn't think that Matt thought it was so brilliant. He was staring at Kaden and was as white as he had been when his mum suggested they search the basement.

"Bloody hell, this is brilliant!" John grinned and walked into the room.

"No it's not," Matt said quietly, "Come on."

Matt turned and left without waiting to see if the others would follow. Albus followed immediately and he heard John and Kaden run after him. Matt didn't say anything as they walked back upstairs, and Albus hoped Kaden would have the sense not to say anything either.

"Did you find him?" Mrs. Eckerton asked as they entered the living room.

"Yeah," Matt muttered.

"Was he-"

"Yeah," Matt said without stopping.

Albus followed him all the way upstairs and into his bedroom. Matt flopped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Albus sat down on the floor and John and Kaden sat down on either side of him.

"Er, what did I do?" Kaden whispered to Albus.

"Shush," Albus replied. He had an inkling as to what that room was used for, but he wasn't sure. He did know that it was usually best to let Matt tell them what was going on in his own time, though. Kaden's pestering questions certainly weren't going to help.

Albus sat quietly for a while as they waited for Matt to say something. He was still laying on his bed staring at the ceiling. Kaden kept glancing at Albus and then at Matt and back again. John was playing with a gobstone that he had found on the floor.

Matt sighed and sat up. Albus glanced up from the floor and looked at him. "You ok?" he asked.

"I guess," he nodded, "I should have just told you not to hide in that room."

Albus nodded and sent Kaden a look so he wouldn't ask about the room.

"I don't know if you guessed what that room is for," Matt began, "But I guess I'll tell you."

"You don't have to," Albus said quietly.

"I know," Matt sighed, "But I will," he paused, "That room is where I transform."

Albus nodded. That's what he had guessed. Judging by the calm look on John's face, he had guessed it too. Kaden on the other hand, was gaping at Matt.

"Wait, what?" he asked.

"That's where I go during full moons," Matt said.

"Oh," Kaden replied, "Why is it padded?"

Albus groaned inwardly. Kaden really needed to learn not to ask about these sorts of things.

Matt laid back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Back w