Hmm...this is suspicious.

Scorpious is definitely an idiot, bringing a fancy broom to school, but I do feel sorry for him. If I had that broom and saw it smashed, I would be devastated.

Albus said that Scorpious's family is death eaters, which was true, but they betrayed Voldemort before his death. Obviously the death eaters realized that Narcissa was lying when they saw Harry alive.

Why is Albus assuming they used a summoning charm? Has he thought of levitation? A first year can levitate, so it doesn't mean it had to be fourth year. There are many ways it could have gotten up there.

I still suspect Nathan though...he wasn't at the game, so he easily could have gotten the broom up there during the game.

Besides, if all these things have been done by one person, then what Slytherin could have known which bed is Albus's? Ravenclaws and Slytherins aren't exactly friendly.

I wonder why Flitwick seemed irritated? Hmm...

I think there is a reason you had the eagle's question be about Forgetfulness potion. I think it's some sort of clue.

I think Rose is right in not jumping to conclusions. They don't know enough information. I'm just going to wait for the next chapter and see what happens!

Author's Response: I was looking forward to hearing what people thought of this, because I thought it might go against people's expectations.

And yeah, the Death Eaters would have reason to dislike the Malfoys, but Albus isn't aware of that. There was so much excitement in Harry's childhood that he couldn't possibly tell Albus all of it and even if he did, Albus probably wouldn't remember it all. So all he knows is that Lucius Malfoy was a leading Death Eater and that Draco and Harry didn't get on at school. He may know Draco got pulled into things he couldn't handle, but without actually experiencing the war, I don't think he'd believe Lucius in any way redeemable. Just reading some of what he did - his involvement in the attack that killed Sirius, for example - would put him firmly in the category of "bad guy" to a 12 year old. Wars are complicated, but I didn't really see them that way when I was 12, so I'm not sure Albus would appreciate all the nuances.

Albus wants to believe it was a Summoning Charm, because then it could be accidental, like somebody was summoning it to them and it hit the Whomping Willow on the way. Levitating it would probably be deliberate. But yeah, he's not thinking through all the options and this is definitely in the capacity of a first year. As Rose said, they could also have just thrown it into the Whomping Willow, though that would be fairly malicious. Or they could have flown it just a couple of feet above the ground and jumped off before it hit the tree. Risky and they'd have to be a pretty good flyer, but it's possible.

And yeah, it would be hard for a Slytherin to find Albus's trunk, particularly for a first year, I think. They'd have to answer the eagle's question pretty quickly, before somebody caught them outside Ravenclaw tower, then they'd have to get through the tower and find his dormitory without being seen. And find out which dormitory was the first year boys'. Then they'd have to look through all the trunks and figure out which one was his.

Unless they'd the power to become invisible or had an invisibility cloak, they'd probably get caught.

And that's true about Nathan not being at the game. It could be just because it was cold or that he wasn't that bothered about the match, but it could also be that he'd other things to do. Of course, that's true for other people as well.

Well, Flitwick has just found out a student has smuggled a broom into Hogwarts and that, either by carelessness or malice, it's been broken and is dealing with students demanding answers and refusing to disperse when he tells them, so he does have reason to be irritated, but of course, there COULD be more to it.

I love hearing your thoughts. Thanks again for reviewing.

 Report Review

You did very well with Hagrid's accent! I am impressed, even mine wasn't that good!

I don't think the person is Blackburn. I think she is just a nice lady who has had unfortunate things happen to her in the past.

I think it is much more likely that the person was a student. Maybe not one that is very homesick though. What was the point of sending Albus swelling solution? Why didn't they just send Albus poison? You've certainly got me stumpted!

I don't think the person has to be someone who witnessed the Chamber of Secrets either. Anybody can easily just find out all about it, there's got to be a book about The Chamber of Secrets. ( As long as it's not by Rita Skeeter! )

I'm eager to find out! So keep writing!

Author's Response: Thanks for the review and for complimenting Hagrid's accent. It wasn't QUITE as hard as I thought it would be. I read some of the passages in the books he appears in, but yeah, I'm sure there are some mistakes in there.

His accent is definitely a kind of rustic English one. I was thinking somewhere around Devon, but then I thought maybe it's Northern. I'm not sure. I've heard it before - on TV, I mean, not in real life - all right.

And yeah, Blackburn definitely had something unfortunate happen in her past, whether she is guilty or innocent. *laughs*

I've her whole background pretty much worked out. I've a character file on her even longer than my one on Albus.

One hint as to what's going on with her, which may or may not be any help: there is a reason why Hagrid got a little annoyed about people harassing her. Think about things Hagrid might feel strongly about. *grins*

As regards not sending Albus poison, the person may not be a murderer, you know, particularly if it IS a student. Even Draco couldn't bring himself to kill Dumbledore and he'd joined the Death Eaters at that stage.

There is also a clue as to why the person may have used swelling solution. And that clue is a slight indication, maybe not to who it is exactly, but it should narrow the field a bit.

And yeah, you're right. There are bound to be books about the Chamber of Secrets. But they'd probably focus on the people who were attacked and Ginny almost being killed and Voldemort's involvement, rather than who stumbled upon the graffiti first or Filch's demand that they be expelled. The fact that Harry was blamed by some other students WOULD probably be discussed, since he is Harry Potter, but it'd probably take a bit of research to find out all the details, which would indicate an interest in the Chamber of Secrets in the first place and not just that it was chosen at random.

Not that they'd have to know somebody who'd actually been at Hogwarts at the time for that. It could be somebody who supported Voldemort and or somebody who wanted to scare people by making them think there was something else in the Chamber or that Voldemort might have yet another Horcrux.

Anyway, even if they DO have inside information, it doesn't help much, since anybody could have had a parent or aunt or uncle in say 7th year when Harry was in 2nd. And the teachers were either working there at the time or could easily find out from a colleague.

I've seen you've a new chapter up. Will go and read that as soon as I've a chance. Sounds like things are getting interesting.

 Report Review

Sorry I haven't reviewed your chapter yet. I've been terribly busy!

I wonder what's up with Angie. I don't thing she's bad, just has an interesting past. I can't help asking Albus to mind his own business though!

I have a feeling those dolls would have driven me mad too. When I was younger, I hated dolls that talked. I only liked regular dolls.

I like that you have James threaten to break Lily's doll. My brother did that thing to me too, so I sympathize with Lily. I see myself so much in her.

Poor Albus gets homesick. I can see why though, he's only eleven years old and is at Hogwarts most of the year. We didn't see that much in Harry Potter though, since he dreaded going home! :)

Another great chapter!

Author's Response: Thanks. I love hearing your opinions on stuff.

And it's kind of amusing that you said Albus should mind his own business since somebody else basically tells him that in the next chapter and basically says that there are some mysteries that aren't anybody's business. He's just kind of paranoid at the idea of somebody who appears to support the Death Eaters rooting through his stuff and all, but yeah, that doesn't excuse trying to find out everybody's private business.

Yeah, I would imagine most kids would find it difficult being away from their families for a month at a time. It's different for Harry, since he'd have preferred be anywhere else. But I knew people at college (or university if you're British or Australian) who were really upset to be away from their families and that was 5 days at a time and we were all 17 or older.

Can understand why dolls that talked would drive you mad. They were usually pretty limited in what they said anyway. When I was 4, I had a doll who could walk AND talk. I was amazed. I thought that was really the height of technology. Quite a different world from today's, eh.

And thanks again for the review.

 Report Review

Yay! The Christmas chapter is here!

I think the healer doll set idea is really cool. I wish I'd thought of it. :)

George is funny even when he's an adult. I really like how you make Roxanne the prankster and not Fred. Most stories I've read make Fred do tons of pranks.

Yup, James is certainly going through the cranky teenager stage. I thought he would actually want to go to the Burrow, so then he can stop hanging out with Albus and Lily and hang out with the "cooler and older" kids.

Another great chapter, as usual! :)

Author's Response: Thanks.

Yeah, I enjoyed those healer dolls. The only reason they are getting so much use is because they amuse me. You can use or adapt them for your characters if you like. *grins*

Fred might turn into a prankster yet. If George has anything to do with it, he will anyway. *laughs* He and Roxanne are very young so still time for them to develop different ways.

Dominique and Victorie don't always take much notice of James, so he's stuck with Louis, Lucy, Albus and Rose.

 Report Review

(to be said in one breath and quickly)please make more im obsessive about these stories the next title should be Gift Exchanging starring Albus Rose Harry Ginny Uncle George Angelina Fred and... Scorpious(he got caught in a blizzard an found himself at their doorstep)

Author's Response: Actually, the title I'm considering for the next chapter is "Gifts and Games", so not far off. *laughs* Unfortunately, Scorpius won't be there (though actually his Christmas will be mentioned when they return to Hogwarts and one of his gifts will be relevant), but all the other people you've mentioned will be there.

The chapter is already written, but the queue is closed at the moment, so it'll go up as soon as the queue reopens and should be up early in January.

Thank you so much for your review and the compliments.

 Report Review

Wow, your Christmas chapter is just in time for Christmas! By the time I post my Christmas chapter, it will probably be spring. (sigh) Oh well.

The Hogwarts model is cool. I'd get it.

Hey, your Lily got a Pygmy Puff too! I can totally see her begging for one...

I can see why Albus was extra protective of his trunk, although I assumed Albus wouldn't care (much) and Rose would be begging him to look after it. So it's nice that you do things that aren't expected.

Oh, James. Since you claim the biscuits is girl work, you just excluded yourself from doing what the rest of the family is doing.

I wonder if the actual Christmas day chapter will be right before Christmas?

Author's Response: That was really just coincidence - that I was writing it so close to Christmas. I'm working on Christmas day now, but it won't be up for Christmas because the queue is closed. It'll probably go up early in the New Year.

Albus is less concerned about his belongings and more concerned about the villain putting something dangerous or incriminating in there, like chocolates laced with Swelling Solution or something. He tends to get paranoid. And mind you, at Hogwarts, that's kind of understandable. Strange things happen there.

And yeah, James is going through a stage where doing things with his younger siblings is childish and uncool. There'll be more of his "I just want to stay here and do my own thing instead of joining in with the Christmas celebrations" in the next chapter.

 Report Review

Yes! I might be right! Maybe it is Nathan!

I wonder what happened to Blackburn. Maybe her parents died? She might have been at Hogwarts during the second wizarding war...

Ha Ha. Trelawney a drunk. That would explain her personality!

Slughorn does not know how to keep surprises. He's like, "oh its a surprise" and implies what it is.

Good chapter!

Author's Response: Well, the books have Trelawney hiding bottles in the Room of Requirement, so it definitely appears likely. *laughs*

And yeah, Slughorn can't help boasting.

Nathan shares a dormitory with Albus, so it'd be very easy for him to slip something in among his belongings. And it was he who brought Albus that note that was supposed to be from Slughorn. So he definitely has opportunity at least. *grins* He's not the only one though.

There'll be a few more hints about what happened to Blackburn, but it'll be a while before the whole story comes out. There are some hints already, in the previous chapters too.

 Report Review

Hello!

I told you that I would hop right on over and review some of your work, which I was intending on doing anyway but hadn't had the time. Can you believe that? Anyway, here I am!
So, it seems that we all have a very interesting way of writing for dearly beloved Albus Potter. Hahaha. I see alot of similarities with your story and mine, especially his nervousness about being in Gryffindor/Slytherin. I really liked what you did with the Sorting as well, I didn't think I'd seen him being put in Ravenclaw before! Nice touch I think. :D
And Rose was in there too with Lucy! They'll be bullied for being all nerdy and such. Hahaha. I'm looking forward to seeing how Albus adapts to being in Ravenclaw and how his other relatives will react to it. Darn Gryffindors. Hahaha.
Anyway, I thought this was a quick and clean way to introduce the characters. There wasn't any heavy detail that would distract from the characters and I really enjoyed that. I tend to go on for like, days when I write a description of something. Sigh. I envy you.
I could have used a bit more detail on what the Ravenclaw dorm looked like but other than that, I'm really happy that I've stopped by! Also, what was with Scorpius taking so long to be dumped in Slytherin? Hinting at something for later perhaps? :3
I'll be back soon, I promise! Trying to get my NG updated before I go back to my girly/angsty stuff. Merlin have mercy on me. T-T
Great read and awesome job! :D
Much love,
Gabbie

Author's Response: *grins* Thanks you so much for reading and reviewing. Good to see you here. Must read some more of your story when I've the chance too, but this is going to be one busy week for me.

Yeah, I'm not great at the visual description, so my stories tend to be pretty sparse on it.

As regards Scorpius, hmm, his personality is going to be revealed pretty slowly as the story continues. But I didn't want him to be a 2-dimensional character. *grins* You're one of the few people to comment on that delay.

 Report Review

Well, I can dismiss one suspect of my list: Blackburn. If there is anything you learn by reading books, it is that the person the main character suspects ends up being guilty.

I'm going to rule out Filch too, since I can't imagine him wearing a cloak with a hood up. Besides, it wouldn't be suspicious at all if he were seen walking to that corridor. So he wouldn't have any need to have a hood.

That leaves Nathan, but that doesn't mean he's the culprit. There are plenty of other people to suspect!

Keep writing!

Author's Response: That's a very good point about Filch. He is the one person who could walk the corridors unnoticed. Most likely nobody would even remember seeing him, because they'd be so used to seeing him around at all times.

Not much else I can say except that I LOVE hearing all your thoughts. Thanks so much for all your reviews.

 Report Review

Poor Scorpious. It must be awful to have everyone thinking that he's an evil person.

It doesn't really fit that Nathan is the person though... Albus has a point.

I'm sorry about the confusion in my previous review; I meant the italics symbol, but I didn't realize that was what it was, so it just turned the rest of the review into italics. Just forget about it.

Sorry this is kind of short, but I've been a bit busy.

Keep writing please! I'm eager to find out who the culprit is, but I probably won't find out until the send of the book.

Please keep writing!

Author's Response: Thanks so much for the reviews. Sorry I didn't reply to the last one. I couldn't get the respond button to work, so I'll just reply to both here. I think it was because it put the respond button in italics too.

I figured out it was the italics symbol you meant. *grins* I'm posting this story on two websites and the other requires that code. I thought I'd deleted them all, but obviously not. *laughs* I edited them out of the last chapter and one other, but there's still probably one or two hanging around that I've missed. Thanks for pointing that out. It was really helpful.

I enjoyed reading your suspect list. It's good to know who people suspect because it gives me an indication of whether I'm giving too much/too little away.

A couple of other people have expressed suspicions of Blackburn and Nathan, but I think you are the first to suspect Filch. It does make sense though. He could well resent Muggleborns, since they have access to both Muggle technology and magic and he really doesn't have either. He could feel he really needs magic, living in the magical world and they don't in the Muggle world, so it's unfair they have it and he doesn't.

And yeah, they just dismissed the possibility of Blackburn being a Death Eater, because she's too young, but Harry said he doesn't think this IS a Death Eater. And neither of your other suspects could really be Death Eaters either - Nathan is much too young and I doubt they'd take Squibs.

Of course, she'd also be too young to have witnessed the events of Chamber of Secrets herself, but she could probably find out anything she wanted about it pretty easily. After all, a lot of her colleagues were working at Hogwarts at the time - McGonagall, Flitwick, Filch, Trelawney, Hagrid, etc -and Neville was a student there then. They might be suspicious if a student started asking questions, but a teacher could probably turn the conversation in the staffroom around to the situation pretty easily. So she's definitely a possible.

One thing I will say is keep an eye out for patterns. There are a few things that aren't necessarily suspicious in themselves, but if you put them together, they should make a clue.

Yeah, Scorpius has a bit of a tough time. And it's not over yet. *grins evilly*

The culprit will probably be revealed a couple of chapters before the end, so a little while yet. I'm currently expecting this to be about 20 chapter or a little more, but who knows for sure? I've a bit to plan around February to Mayish.

 Report Review

This is so similar to the Chamber of Secrets. Not only what Harry stated is similar, but also the fact that Albus blamed Scorpious, just like Harry blamed Draco.

The past few Chapters I noticed that you have every once in a while. I'm assuming that's not supposed to be there?

This is my suspect list:

1. Nathan. I will feel horrible and beg for Nathan's forgiveness (if you can beg with a fictional character) if it turns out it isn't him. I am mainly blaming him because he is really nervous, but that might be because he is muggle- born.

2. Blackburn. I know, I know, they dismiss him off their list, but usually the people they don't suspect ends up being the culprit. Plus, he wasn't there today.

3. Filch. I began suspecting him when Albus realized that Filch was there when Albus saw the graffiti, and when Harry saw it many years ago. Plus, Filch is plainly a horrible charcter so I feel like blaming him for something.

This is getting more suspicious every chapter. Keep writing please!

 Report Review

This was a really good post and I absolutely adored it. It surprised me that Albus was in Ravenclaw, I never really thought about the other houses either!

I really liked your post and I wanted to know if you were interested in joining Rocky Mountain International for Magical Enlightenment. RMI is a roleplaying site chock full of talented authors, like yourself, who are eager to plot things with other characters! RMI is just like Hogwarts which includes: a library; a Quidditch team/field; separate houses (different from those at Hogwarts); Pearl Street (a type of Hogsmead), and much much more! We have Secret Passageways along with different elections than the ones at Hogwarts.

I'd be thrilled if you considered to join and I'll answer any of your questions. Don't forget to say that Bastian recommended you, thanks :).

You can find it at www. rmimagic. com Thanks :D

Author's Response: Glad you liked the story so far. Hope you enjoy the rest too.

Thanks for telling me about RMI. I'm not really into roleplaying, but I might check it out sometime.

 Report Review

Well, I agree with Rose on that; at least it's not blood! But that's a small consolation.

...the note is gone. HMM. That, coupled with the mention of the quiz, strongly implies that it's a Ravenclaw First Year who is involved in this. Which is a horrible thought. And is this linked to the Swelling Solution? Or the scales? SO MANY QUESTIONS. Hoping for an update soon, I'm loving it so far! :)

Author's Response: Those are pretty good deductions. Though I will say that the great thing about Ravenclaw Tower's question (despite how difficult they are to think up) is that it means that a non-Ravenclaw could POSSIBLY get in if they were smart enough.

It'll probably be updated Monday or Tuesday. At least I'll probably post the chapter then and it'll be up whenever it's validated. But I'm not sure because chapter 10 is causing me some problems. I think Nano is jinxing me or something. There must be some law as to how many words of stories can be written at one time in the world and the Nanoers are using up the quota, slowing my writing down. *nods*

Glad you're enjoying it. I was really hoping you would. I thought you would at first, because you said you liked next generation and you seem to enjoy mysteries, but then I started worrying you mightn't because a lot of the characters are quite different from in Rails.

Thank you SO much for the reviews. They are really awesome. *huggles Ellie tightly*

 Report Review

Nawww, poor Dominique missing out on the Veela genes! Those Weasley genes, they're persistent, eh?

I love Derek wishing he had half-term. I wish I did, too! I did my usual trick this week of forgetting that it was half-term, and popping into town - it was heaving. HEAVING. Bad move. Try again next week! But yes, Hogwarts should have a half-term, and I hadn't actually noticed before that they don't! I mean, how do Muggle kids explain that one to their friends? I swear even boarding schools have half-term...

Hmm. Scorpius ISN'T eye-rolling. Yup, he's definitely not a stereotypical Slytherin! He is GOOD.

Abric Fletcher knows how to steal. Haha, definitely Dung's kid!

UH OH. As the title tells us, it's the writing on the wall! This isn't going to end well.

Author's Response: *grins* Well, they are only an eighth Veela at that stage, so I'm guessing the excessive beauty would be diluted. Plus, I didn't want to make Dominique a brilliant Quidditch player and an astonishing beauty. *laughs*

Writing Derek's comments, I only just noticed how short a term "half-term" is, compared with "the mid-term break". Your phrase is definitely neater on this one.

And yeah, that part about Scorpius was meant to give an indication of what kind of person he might be. You're observant. You're picking up on more than I'd expected most people to, but then I know you're observant from your comments on the Harry Potter books.

And yeah, Abric is Dung's kid. Now, why did I give him a first name I can never remember how to spell? Well, I know why. It was the meaning, which fit pretty well with Mundungus.

 Report Review

Just read all your responses :) On the Scorp/Al note, at the time I was first planning Rails I wasn't necessarily a massive fan of the bromance so I wasn't too inclined to have them get on. Also, Albus not liking Scorpius has huge importance in that it's the way that Carlotta first finds out about Voldemort. It's only really since I made those initial plans that I've read a few stories where Albus and Scorpius are friends at Hogwarts and have come to love a well-written Potter/Malfoy friendship.

BUT ENOUGH ABOUT MY FIC.

The Quidditch discussion was hilarious. I mean, it was funny enough with Angie being adamant that it couldn't beat football, and THEN Fionnuala chipped in as well ... amazing stuff. Kids, you'll all LOVE Quidditch, trust me.

Oh, I was so sad when James let that goal in! Poor thing :( In the end I was glad when Gryffindor won, because it meant a James win, but part of me wanted Ravenclaw to win too. Though of course if Al or any of his friends had been on the Ravenclaw team, it would have been a different story!

...okay, who on EARTH took Rose's scales? My first thought was that it was whoever was behind the Swelling Solution, and that they used the scales to brew it, but if she had them the night before ... hmm. *ponders*

Oh, and what's the answer to the question about the vampires? I can't work it out :( This is where it's a simple answer-to-a-question job and not a riddle at all...

Author's Response: Honestly, I didn't even make up an answer to that one, because I knew I wouldn't need it, but that night it occurred to me that "in the dark" would probably be a reasonable answer.

And I love your comparisons with your stories. *grins*

Oh, I want to bring aingingein into this, but I've no idea how. It sounds kind of amusing.

As regards the scales, maybe she just dropped them. *looks innocent*

 Report Review

Scorpius keeps himself to himself. Naw, bless him. I bet he just wants to be friends with Albus! (I realise this may well be wrong, but I love Scorp/Al bromances. So why they dislike each other in my own fic is beyond me...)

Haha. No, Al, Nathan REALLY isn't going to be any good at flying! If he's naff at practical magic, he's not going to be able to keep himself on a broom. And sure enough...

To be fair, Scorpius doesn't help himself here, but it's not right for people to judge him based on his family. For a start, he's not them and can't help that he's related to them, and secondly Narcissa practically saved the wizarding world, guys! Give them a break :) Back to the story, I don't THINK Scorpius is a suspicious character; it might just be that he has a lot on his mind, or likes being alone. I may be wrong, of course :)

Author's Response: That amused me about you not being sure why Albus and Scorpius hate each other in your fic. I'm not sure we're going to end up with a Scorp/Al bromance here. There's a bit too much water under the bridge between the two families.

Yeah, Albus doesn't know the full story of the war. A lot of the adults don't exactly enjoy talking about it, for obvious reason and he's only half listened to a lot of what they did say, because they seem like such old stories to him. So all he knows is "the Malfoys were involved with the Death Eaters and got away with it"

 Report Review

Oh, Albus, NEVER EAT A CHOCOLATE CAULDRON. Go speak to your Uncle Ron, he'll tell you all about it. Though in fairness, I did the same as him and just ASSUMED that whatever post he received would be from his parents, so I can see why he just went ahead and started eating them.

Swelling Solution. The Third Years have just brewed it. HMM.

You know, I'm not so sure that Slughorn would have believed the popular viewpoint regarding Voldemort's return. He was near enough on the run for the entire of OotP, remember? There's certainly a question over how much he DID know or believe, and he definitely didn't seem to give a damn about joining the cause, but ... he was wiser to it all than we think he should have been, I reckon. His heart's in the right place, he's just a typical Slytherin in terms of saving his own skin first.

Rose really doesn't think much of James, does she? I think he's telling the truth too; pranking Albus is by no means below him, but he wouldn't do anything SERIOUS. He'd just pull a harmless prank, and this is NOT a harmless prank. Mind you, setting training brooms on fire is hardly harmless! Way to disprove my point, James! Either way, I'm satisfied that it wasn't him. And I love how his first reaction was to ask if Al was ok :)

Hmm, Blackburn's in a better mood today. I'M NOT CONVINCED.

Author's Response: I actually laughed at the first two lines of your review. *huggles you super-tightly* And I'm glad somebody else thought as Albus did. SL was like "Albus, they are going to be dodgy!"

You've a good point about Slughorn. I hadn't actually thought of that. And I don't blame him for going on the run. I think I would have too. The Death Eaters are SCARY!

And yeah, Rose and James are sort of opposites. He's a bit of a joker and she's pretty serious. Plus she tends to get a bit carried away protecting those she loves. And Albus is a bit of an easy target, because he believes what James tells him so much.

The fire thing was partly an accident when he couldn't fully control his magic. He probably didn't intend to do that much harm.

And yes, Blackburn is in a better mood now. *giggles at how suspicious you and SL are of her*

 Report Review

I LOVE your James. Absolutely love him. He comes across as so self-confident, but you can tell that underneath he really is worried about not making the Quidditch team.

Nice little assessment of Albus' classes. It all flows, which is nice. Sometimes people throw it in and it just feels awkward. And I love Flitwick. Who doesn't?

I always find it funny when students who can barely fly seem to think they can try out to be on the team. Bless them. And James as a KEEPER. Nice. Different. I like. Another instance where I'll have to drum it into my head that RAILS IS NOT CANON. And I was genuinely worried for a moment that he wouldn't make the team. But he did, yay!

Hmm, secret Slughorn/Blackburn rendezvous, eh? Haha. Peculiar behaviour from her. Detention? REALLY? She's one to watch. HMM.

Author's Response: I did a LOT of editing to make that stuff flow. *laughs* I'm glad you think I've succeeded.

I'm also glad that you thought he mightn't make the team. *grins* I wanted to keep a bit of suspense up. I was actually considering putting a poll up on the Nuthouse as to what position James should play. I was kind of tempted to make him a Beater, so if Albus played for Ravenclaw later on, he'd have to fire Bludgers at him, but I decided not to be so evil.

And *laughs* SL got suspicious of Blackburn at this point too. I will say Blackburn is one of the characters I'm most enjoying writing in this. And I loved writing that part about the detention. It was so random. "You passed down the corridor! Detention!" *laughs*

 Report Review

Angie hasn't got a letter? Poor her! :( Was she the other Muggleborn? Maybe her parents haven't quite got the hang of the whole owl post thing yet *giggles* Or MAYBE she doesn't have parents. HMM. *OVERTHINKS*

Baby Freddie. Mind BLOWN. Although it makes more than enough sense that George and Angelina's kids would be younger than the others'. I'm just going to have to try to remember he's not James' age in this one *giggles*

Oh, Rose. She really is her mother's daughter, isn't she? Not interested in Quidditch! I love Albus' "how can this be?" reaction, like it's blasphemous for her to not like it *giggles*

Sluggy retiring! In fairness, he taught Voldemort at Hogwarts so he must be round about the same age as Dumbledore (except Dumbledore's dead. You know what I mean!) so he's probably getting on a bit now! Lucky Lily, eh?

"Well, you know Lucy. She and Molly practically learnt "networking" as their first word." I love this line SO MUCH. And I always like when Percy's children are likeable; too many people automatically make both of them clones of him and then ignore them, instead of making them their own people. Big fanfic pitfall well avoided. :)

OH, Rasmus was a Bagshot, wasn't he? I remember now. Good to see that Sluggy's parties are as riveting as ever :)

Author's Response: Yes, Angie is the other Muggleborn. I've a bit of background on her family, but it's not going to be revealed for a while. *grins* It might be relevant or it might not.

Yeah, I kind of thought that George would be the kind to enjoy his freedom for a while before settling down, so I wanted to make his kids younger. It's probably partly being Irish (since the Famine, early marriages haven't exactly been the norm here), but I don't like to have everybody have children in their 20s.

Yeah, Rose is quite like Hermione, only without the insecurity. I'm planning a boggart chapter in year 2 (I'm guessing Lupin would have had to do some 2nd year stuff in 3rd year, since Lockhart taught them nothing at all) and her boggart DEFINITELY won't be failing everything. I know what both her and Albus's boggarts are.

Yeah, Slughorn must be well over 100 at this stage, but I didn't want to introduce too many new teachers in the first year. And I'm glad I kept him because I've been able to include some significant stuff in his waffle.

Thanks about Lucy and Molly. I'm trying to maintain a balance between having Lucy a bit like her parents while still making her her own person.

And yes, Rasmus is a Bagshot.

 Report Review

Oh, Albus, forgetting which house he's in. The silly billy! Easily done, though, if Gryffindor's all he's known thus far!

My brain is so full of Rails stuff now that it completely throws me when other people age the Next Gen characters differently! Your James is two school years above Al, whereas mine is only one school year above. It's not even relevant to Rails because it's post-Hogwarts, but I know all the relative school years anyway therefore it's completely confusing me right now *giggles*

Oh, don't tell me the dirty Slytherin Fletcher boy is Mundungus' son! Don't tell me some poor woman had his child...

I am, naturally, loving all this Statute talk. Haha, Derek. "What if somebody finds out? Somebody who isn't meant to know?" WELL, Derek, they're supposed to get the Obliviators involved, but occasionally you get a moron who thinks he can manage the situation himself. And it never ends well!

"Only Aunt Hermione would give directions to the library." DEAD.

Possibly THE overriding theme of this chapter is basically just how much Muggleborns are in the dark over the wizarding world. I mean, Muggle persecution has surely always been a crucial thing for anyone to know about, but at the point we're at now, it's unbelievable to think that Muggleborns turn up at Hogwarts with absolutely no clue about their new world's history! They should really give them a basic background of wizarding history when they first turn up. Or maybe that would just scare them off *giggles*

Good chapter! :)

Author's Response: I was thinking the ages were going to get confusing for you. Actually, shortly after I started writing this, I was editing your story and you mentioned Roxanne and I was like "but shouldn't she be only about starting Hogwarts now", then I realised your Roxanne is a whole lot older. The James thing didn't throw me so much, because a year doesn't matter much when they are grown up.

And you figured that out about Abric! I wasn't sure if anybody would, since he's a fairly minor character. I've added a few extra hints later on.

 Report Review

I AM HERE.

Is there ever a magical child who DOESN'T worry endlessly about what house they're going to be put in? Well, I guess the more confident ones aren't going to worry about such things - see Hermione and Malfoy for examples - but so many kids seem to get so hung up on it! Reason number 593 why the houses shouldn't exist.

It's funny; we don't know much about Albus from canon, but from what we HAVE seen you could easily make a case for him being in pretty much every house! I think Gryffindor and Slytherin are by far and away the most common places for people to put him (guilty as charged) but it's by no means beyond the realms of possibility for him to be in Ravenclaw OR Hufflepuff. And for that reason, I love that you've put him in Ravenclaw. And his forgetting about the other houses made me think of Shandurai, because she did the exact same thing!

Oh, poor Ron. His daughter's a Ravenclaw. How will he bear the shame?

Lucy's immediate worry over the new teacher's teaching skill is HILARIOUS, and so Ravenclaw-ish! Or, rather, so Percy-ish :)

If I was writing a Hogwarts fic, I think I'd probably avoid putting my main character in Ravenclaw, just to avoid the questions at the door! This one is a good one though, I like it :)

Oh, Derek. Not having a clue about Albus' parents. Give it a couple of days and he'll know EVERYTHING. Poor Albus, having the others already talking about his parents. Given how cruel I've been to my James, I can't help but feel sorry for all the Potter kids now :(

Good first chapter! It can be really hard to get the balance of things right in an opening chapter; getting the introductions and basic establishing of things done without it being mundane. You manage it very well here. And, of course, thank you very much for the present! :)

Author's Response: YAY, Ellie reviewing!!! *huggles you super tightly* I just checked this like half an hour ago and then came back and found five new reviews. *is really pleased*

To be honest, I kind of see Albus as fitting Hufflepuff, but I didn't want to just repeat "The Son of the Boy who Lived" so I started thinking how I could make Albus different from James in that and that's what started the idea for this story.

Oh wow, as I told SL, you have NO idea how long I spent staring at a blank screen trying to think of a question for that. And there's one later than I was thinking of the whole previous day and got nowhere, so I eventually googled "riddles" for ideas. I didn't use any of the ones I found, but they started me thinking.

Glad you liked my introductions. Thanks.

 Report Review

Good thing McGonagall believed him! I was so worried that he would get in trouble...

I wonder if Nathan is the one doing this. I'm sorry, he seems like a very nice character, I'm only saying this because of his reaction when Albus told him to go to McGonagall's office.

How could Rose realize it wasn't blood? I have trouble telling the difference between red ink and blood. Although blood is darker and turns brown when dry...

I can see why this is called "Writing on The Wall"

How do you get a banner for your story? Almost every single story on here has a banner, but I don't understand how you get one.

Keep up the good work!

Author's Response: Thanks again for your review, all your reviews. They are really awesome and I'm glad you seem to be enjoying this.

As regards Nathan, I couldn't possibly respond to that, except to say that EVERYBODY is a possibility (except Albus and Rose, obviously).

Not sure how she realised, to be honest. I guess she figured it wasn't thick enough for blood, or possibly she realised that it would have been browner if it were blood, as it had probably started to dry in at that point.

As regards banners, you can make one yourself or you can ask somebody for one. I have a friend who makes them (she doesn't post on this site though), but there's also apparently a site somewhat connected with this one called "The Dark Arts". I just googled it to make sure I'd the right name and it came up right away. There are some people there who do banner requests.

 Report Review

Oh, wow! That sure is an interesting end. I wonder if Albus will get blamed for it?

The writing on the wall (which is the title of this book!) reminds me a lot of the Chamber of Secrets. I wonder if the Chamber has anything to do with it?

That letter was definitely fake. No way would Slughorn have a party 7:30 in the morning, I'm surprised Albus fell for it.

The person who did that, (Who is probably the same person who sent him Swelling Solution) probably sent the letter for Albus to come so Albus is blamed.

I wonder why Scorpious looked curious about the giants when Professor Jones talked about them? I wonder if its essential to the plot.

Happy Halloween! (You spell Halloween differently than I do.)

Trick or Treat!

Author's Response: Yeah, I hope Albus doesn't come across as too naive here, but he is only 11 and nervous about possibly offending a teacher. He really should know better.

The part with Scorpius is more about giving us an insight into his character than anything else.

I spell Hallowe'en as Halloween as well. It just so happened that my brother and sister were giving out recently about how the apostrophe never seems to be used any more, so I decided to stick it in. I don't have any real preference for either spelling, so I just chose one and then kept it consistent.

And I will say that the similarity with the Chamber of Secrets isn't a coincidence, though the relevance might be different than you expect.

Thanks for the review. I hope you are enjoying the story and that you enjoy Halloween.

 Report Review

I really like this chapter! I can understand Albus when he doesn't know who to root for. I'd feel the same way.

I wonder if those scales are misplaced from the same person who gave Albus the swelling solution.

I disagree with Albus. Hufflepuff is the best house! Sorry, I'm a bit defensive of my house. Ravenclaw is my second- favorite though.

Which house are you in?

Author's Response: Well, I'm a Hufflepuff on Pottermore, but most other places I'm a Ravenclaw. I get the two houses pretty equally on quizzes, but I more identify as a Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw is my favourite house and Hufflepuff my second favourite.

Albus just loves Ravenclaw because his friends are there and if he wasn't in Ravenclaw he wouldn't have gotten the chance to get as close to them. If he was in another house, he'd probably like that best.

Hmm, not saying anything about the scales and what might or might not have happened to them, except to ask, does it give any clues if they are the same person? *grins*

Thanks for all your reviews. They are awesome.

My next chapter is "Hallowe'en" and I'm hoping to have it up for Hallowe'en, but I'm not sure that's going to happen now. I'm having rather a busy week.

 Report Review

Ooh, I like this chapter. I think Albus has it wrong. The Malfoys didn't just change sides, Narcissa Malfoy put her life on the line by telling Voldemort that Harry was dead. That's a big difference.

I don't think Scorpious is up to anything suspicious. Sometimes I go outside in the cold.

Albus is a lot like Harry. They both get obsessed with things easily. Harry got obsessed with Draco Malfoy in his sixth year, and with the Deathly Hallows in his seventh. Now Albus is obsessed on who sent him the swelling solution.

I realized as I was reading this that I forgot to include the flying lesson for my story. So this is a good reminder!

The second chapter of my story is up. :)

Good work on this chapter!

Author's Response: Glad you like this chapter. After chapter 3, it was the one that caused me most trouble. *laughs*

And thanks for letting me know about your story. Looking forward to reading chapter 2.

I didn't think of that similarity between Harry and Albus, but you're right. They are coming at it from slightly different perspectives though in that Albus is more concerned with proving to himself that it's not some Dark Wizard or something.

And yeah, Albus isn't seeing the whole picture with regard to the Malfoys. He's only 11 and only knows about the war from what his dad and others have told him, so all he sees is them changing sides at the last moment and not the fact that they really had very little choice in Deathly Hallows or that Narcissa saved Harry's life. If he knows about that, he'd probably think it was the least she could do after being involved with the organisation that tried to kill him in the first place.

 Report Review