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Checking up on Gringotts
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 01-07-07 09:49
Hans McCullough beckoned Bill to a work table set up on the lower-most level of the vaults beneath Gringotts in Hogsmeade. Bill wasn't worry today, but wanted to pop in to check on the progress of the bank's reconstruction.
"This is what the surveyors have discovered so far," Hans explained, running his index finger over a large scroll on the table. "The tunnels are vast, and I'm willing to be there's more under here then we'll ever know. At this point it's unknown whether they do connect to those under the cemetery, but I'm betting there's a link somewhere."
"It's like there's a whole different civilization under the village," Bill mused aloud. "I never realized how expansive it all was."
"Makes you a bit uneasy doesn't it? Who knows what's underneath the homes on the East and West Lane?"
Bill hadn't really thought about that until Hans mentioned it.
"We're doing our best to plug the hole. The Ministry's going to send out folks from the Department of Magical Construction on Monday to close off the tunnels directly around the bank. I have a feeling they'll be doing the same for the other establishments in town, but Gringotts is first on the list."
"I'll definitely take comfort in knowing that someone won't try to break in the same way those robbers broke out."
"Any word on who those men were?" Hans asked.
"None," Bill said, shaking his head. "With their faces covered, we weren't able to recognize them and none had any distinguishing features. The only descriptions we were able to provide were their build and their voices."
"Hopefully they will be stopped. At least no one was seriously hurt."
"Yes," Bill said, thinking about Lysander, who'd been the only one to be injured in the robbery.
"Well," he went on, "I suppose that's all for now. I'll see you Monday?"
"It's likely," Hans replied. "See you then."
Determined ~Jewel Reily~
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 01-07-07 16:29
Jewel softly sighs to herself as the students in the Great Hall get ready for another try at apparating. So far Jewel's splinched herself four times. While splinching isn't anything to be happy about Jewel figures it's at least something since as yet most of the others haven't even managed that.
Jewel also figures she's making some progress given that each time she's splinched more of her has ended up inside the hoops she's aiming for. The first time it was her left pinky. Then it was all of her left hand and wrist. The third time was up to her elbow and the fourth got all of that arm and most of her left shoulder. At the rate she's going at some point during one of the apparation lessons all of her will make it. Or most of her. Jewel wonders if it would count as a successful apparation if all but the tips of a few strands of hair made it.
Jewel focuses on her hoop, trying to shut out Phin next to her grousing under his breath about not having any success so far. The destination in mind, Jewel thinks about the other two D's - determination and deliberation. After several seconds of concentrated thought there's a loud popping sound in her ears then Jewel falls over.
Sighing again, Jewel now waits patiently to be unsplinched again, her left arm and shoulder as well as her right foot from the ankle down over in her hoop with the rest of her sprawled on the floor. It's times like these that Jewel is glad Bailey is working in a row ahead of her so that he doesn't see how odd she looks. Not that there's anything with Bailey Gray beyond friendship but since Jewel hopes it will blossom into something more, it's probably best he doesn't see her literally without a foot to stand on.
Secret Job
Author: Ron Weasley
Date: 01-07-07 17:59
Ron bypasses the door into his brothers' shop for the outside stairs leading up to the flat. Clutching a nondescript brown paper bag to his chest Ron eases the door to the flat open, looking left and right for Ginny. Stepping inside he just as gently closes the door then stands listening for sounds to indicate where his sister might be. Hearing nothing Ron walks quickly but quietly to his room.
When Hero the cat goes bounding in front of him, Ron stops suddenly in startlement. In doing so he knocks against the wall making a loud bumping sound. Ginny immediately calls out from the direction of her bedroom, "Ron? That you? You okay?"
"Yes, it's me," Ron calls back, sounding overly loud to his hears. He tones it done a little. "Just bumped into the wall to avoid stepping on Hero."
While talking Ron's hurried the rest of the way to his own room, wanting to get the bag out of sight in case Ginny should decide to come to her door and look into the hall. Ducking inside Ron shoves the bag onto his desk then non-chalantly steps back into the hall. Sure enough Ginny's standing there.
She looks inquiringly at Ron and asks, "Working today?"
For a millisecond Ron thinks Ginny knows something but then he comes to his senses and understands she's meaning the only jobs she knows him to have. "No, it's not my weekend at Whizz Hard and since I'm going to help out at the Hogsmeade shop all day tomorrow I'm not doing anything in either location today."
Ginny tilts her head in an invitating gesture while asking, "Want some tea? I'm working downstairs in a bit but thought I'd have a cuppa first. Maybe some cheese toast."
"Sounds good," Ron replies, falling into step with her on the way to the kitchen.
A short time later Ron gets up to clean dishes and Ginny heads down to the shop. He's relieved she'll be out of the flat for the new few hours. That means he can go into his room and work in peace. Should Ginny come back upstairs during a break or if anyone else comes up, Ron can just say he was working on a paper or doing some other work for one of his classes.
Hero follows Ron into his room, taking up her favorite spot on top of Ron's pillow. Ron straightens everything on his desk then sits down with the brown paper bag on the floor beside him. He reaches in and pulls out a handful of letters. Opening the first one Ron reads in a low voice to the cat.
Dear Aunt Aggie,
My boyfriend of five years refuses to set a date. He says I've got the engagement ring so why do I want to rush? Should I set a date and just tell him when to show up for the wedding or should I wait like he says?
Impatient in Chelsea
Ron chews his lower lip in thought then picks up a quill to begin a reply. As he begins writing Ron can well imagine the reaction of his family and friends if they were to learn that Ron's taken another job. They'd not laugh so much at Ron taking the job to make a little more money to put away each week to eventually buy Hermione a top notch engagement ring. They'd laugh that Ron has taken a job that he's not qualified for in the least and laugh that he was even hired for it.
Ron is The Daily Prophet's newest columnist, taking the place of someone who's recently retired. Ron is the new Aunt Aggie, the paper's Agony Aunt*.
*An Agony Aunt is an advice columnist a la Dear Abby.
How do you...?
Author: Saffron
Date: 01-08-07 21:00
Saffron sets a tray with cups of coffee, sugar bowl, cream, and spoons into the low table in front of the couch. She hands Frannie one of the cups then sits down, immediately leaning forward to pick up her own cup. Saffron's stirring a little cream into her coffee when Frannie asks a question that has nothing to do with the conversation they'd been having about where to go for lunch once Aaron's done his part at the apparation lesson as head of Hufflepuff House.
"How do you see into the future?"
Saffron puts the spoon she'd been using back onto the tray then takes a sip of coffee. "It's sort of hard to explain," she begins. "Some of it depends on whe method of divination."
"How about the crystal ball?" Frannie ventures.
"At times it's as though there's a fog inside the ball. Everything's cloudy. Most of the time I get flashes of images. I can't speak for others but for me it's along the lines of a photographic montage. The clearest readings are when I can see an actual scene taking place. The best I can describe it for you is for you to think in terms of that box you watch. The, erm, television but with the crystal ball I usually don't hear anything."
Frannie nods, her eyes bright with interest. "Tarot cards?"
Saffron smiles and gets up to retrieve a deck of tarot cards so she can do a show as she tells. As she starts showing Frannie the different cards and explains what each means, Saffron can't help but smile more. Having Frannie show an interest and asking quesstions is a nice way to spend their morning together while waiting on Aaron.
Last Day in France
Author: Carys
Date: 01-09-07 18:14
Although Carys loathed the idea of allowing house elves to handle all of her personal belongings, she didn't have the time or the energy to pack up everything herself. Jean had been sentenced to prison for thirty years for his role in Owain's kidnapping and subsequent death. Carys, as a minor, would have wound up in protective services with her son, had she not had other relatives to whom she could go. Alun and Mairwen Hanham had graciously agreed to take in their granddaughter and great-grandson and anxiously expected their arrival later that day.
Carys had spent all week doing what she could to get her things together, but it was hard when everything, absolutely everything, had to be boxed and put into storage if nowhere else. Manoir Blanche would go up for sale in days. The home Carys had always gone to during summers as a child, the one she'd lived in since leaving Hogwarts, would no longer belong to the family. It both saddened and relieved Carys. Manoir Blanche had so many memories, both good and bad.
In all the excitement from last weekend, Carys had plum forgotten to send word to Griffin. She did so now, penning a long, detailed letter of the entire account, from its very beginnings when Owain and Carys hadn't even been born yet, to the final chapter. She gave Griff her new address, knowing that he would be able to visit Tristan more regularly with them returning to the UK later that day. Carys didn't want to deny her son his father, especially when maintaining a family seemed so difficult for Carys herself. She'd lost her brother, her mother, and now her father, though the man still lived.
Carys called Homer to her and offered the sealed envelope to him. He clutched it in his talons, accepted a stroke behind his ears, and then took off through the open window for Great Britain and Griff.
Carys turned from the window and looked at her son, who sat on the floor and repeatedly banged a stuffed animal on the tiles. He seemed so well-adjusted, for all he'd already gone through in his short life. She didn't think he'd gotten any nightmares from last weekend's excitment.
She frowned. Would he remember Jean? Carys couldn't decide whether she wanted him to forget or to remember. Jean had been very good to Tristan. Carys couldn't deny it.
And Jean had saved Tristan from a different life, a life not his own.
Yes, Carys decided. She hoped that Tristan would remember Jean as a loving grandfather, for that he'd been and still was.
A Fluke?
Author: Jet
Date: 01-10-07 13:24
Jet could have taken apparation lessons before returning to Hogwarts last September. Chronologically several years past the age most take lessons, upon deciding to finish his education at Hogwarts Jet chose to wait to learn apparation with the other 6th years.
The first lesson, just one week ago, had gone for them all just as Jet had expected it to. The most anyone accomplished was splinching. Jet hadn't even done that. By the time that lesson was over the frustration of students was palpable. Jet doesn't know about the others but he wanted to go over and kick his hoop across the Great Hall just so he would feel as though he'd accomplished something.
So far the second lesson is going much the same as the first. Some splinching here and there and many a brow creased in deep concentration as students turn red faced as they determinedly deliberate their destinations. Jet wonders if the only popping sounds any will hear today are as their capillaries burst from the excess concentration.
Professor Twycross gives words of encouragement as the students prepare for another attempt. The instructor repeats the mantra of, "Destination. Determination. Deliberation." Jet blocks out the professor's voice, at this point finding it more of a distraction than a help.
Jet focuses on his hoop. There's a strange sensation and when he looks around to try and figure out what it was Jet realizes he's no longer standing where he'd been. He's in the middle of his hoop and not splinched even a tiny bit!
For the rest of the lesson, no matter how hard he tries Jet can't seem to do a repeat. Professor Twycross tells Jet not to get discouraged, that a fully successful apparation during a second lesson is something to be extremely pleased about.
Not Quite Herself
Author: Gigi Martini
Date: 01-10-07 18:41
Gigi sat in her office and stared at the grainy top of her desk, though she hardly saw the varying shades of color or the patterns polished into the shiny wooden surface. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the thought that she'd lost everything from her vault at Gringotts. Her entire life's savings had been in that vault. Some of her most precious things were in that vault––things that had belonged to Giselle, too.
At least Gigi had thought to set aside two vaults for Gerry and Gareth. Both didn't hold much, but it was something. Unfortunately, it looked like Gigi would have to draw from both to carry on with her life, at least until she could get her money back, if she ever would. Gigi didn't want to take from her sons' savings, but right now she had no choice. Geoffrey would help, of course. He'd been helping since Gigi told him the truth about Gerry's paternity.
Still, Gigi was upset. She could hardly concentrate on her work.
Dulcia leaned in the doorway to Gigi's office. Gigi usually noticed when visitor's dropped by but didn't realize she had a guest until Dulcia cleared her throat.
"Yes?"
"Are you all right, Gigi?"
Gigi knew that Dulcia already knew the answer to the question. Still, she nodded her head and attempted a small smile. "I'll be fine," she said, and while it didn't seem like she'd be okay anytime soon, she knew she probably would be eventually. "What's going on?"
"I drew up a list of places that might offer incentives for the summer reading program. At the children's librarian meeting with Director Lampwick last week, she asked us to jot down businesses we want to invite to participate in the program. Naturally, I'm choosing places here in town, while Azaelia over at Diagon Alley is picking sites over there. We're to present our lists to Lampwick next week. Did you want to review my selections in case you have any ideas yourself?"
Gigi felt she probably wouldn't be very helpful but said sure nonetheless.
Gigi had always implemented programs during the summer when she'd had full control of the library, but now the Ministry would be running the entire thing. She could still plan her own programming, but the Library Divison would decide how many books each participant would have to read to earn whatever incentives the libraries would offer this year. The Library Division would decide the start and end dates for the summer reading program. Gigi and Darren over at the Diagon Alley Branch would have to go with the Ministry flow.
As zombie-like as Gigi felt right about now, she supposed she could handle it. She almost didn't have the energy to use any over her own brainpower.
Hopefully, that feeling would pass quickly.