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By Order Of The Ministry
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 02-08-08 08:14
Saturday morning, no work, sleep late, snuggled under the covers and against Janine. Pinky not yet ready to come wake them up and insist on eating one of his excellent breakfasts because Pinky and Rocko have gone out for a long jaunt to see how many squirrels they can spot. Harry burrows a little further under the covers and is almost entirely back to sleep when Janine pokes it.
"It's for you," she drowsily murmurs.
"What? Okay," Harry says, not really awake enough to assimilate what she's just said.
Janine pokes him again, insisting in her sleepy voice, "For you. Fireplace."
Harry has trouble getting his eyes to open and just as much trouble forcing himself to sit up. Once he's out from under the covers he can hear what Janine was hearing. From the direction of the living room there's a voice calling, "Harry! Come to the fireplace, Harry! Are you there? Harry! Harry!"
Stumbling out of bed and across the bedroom to the door, Harry can now distinguish that the voice sounds a great deal like Kingsley's. Blearily walk down the sort hallway, his legs still with that languid feeling of having been totally relaxed, Harry shoves hair off his face, wishing he'd thought to grab his glasses from the nightstand.
"Kingsley?"
"Harry! Thank Merlin! Get out, Harry. There's not much time. Go now!"
More awake now thanks to the urgent tone in Kingsley's voice, Harry owlishly peers more closely at the face in the fireplace. "What is it?"
"They're coming for you. Go now, as you are." Kingsley's head turns at some sound he hears on his end. He whips his head back to look at Harry, "Someone's almost here. I have to go. Hurry, Harry. Leave. Go! Go!"
Kingsley's face abruptly vanishes from the fireplace.
They're coming for you.
Bloody hell! Harry runs toward the bedroom, "Janine! Janine, I have to leave."
Harry's not even halfway to the bedroom when the front door of the house bursts open. At the exact same time someone enters through both the kitchen door and the sliding door to the backyard. Harry whirls around, yelling at the intruders and reaching for the wand that's by his glasses on the nightstand.
A number of people are aiming wands at Harry, or so he thinks if there's any accuracy in what he's seeing in the gray morning shadows and without his glasses. A deep voice intones, "Harry James Potter, you are hereby under arrest by order of the Ministry of Magic. Do you willing give yourself up?"
There's no point in fighting. Harry doesn't have his wand. His vision is blurry. There are far more people there to arrest him than needed, which means that he's hopelessly outnumbered.
"I surrender."
Janine's coming out of the bedroom, groggily asking, "What's going on?"
Harry spreads his arms, hoping he's effectively blocking Janine from all the pointed wands. To the Ministry people he says, "She's harmless." To Janine he says, "I'm being arrested."
"Arrested?" Janine asks, pressing against Harry's back to peer around at how many have been sent to bring him in. "Guess we sort of expected something like this might happen," she sighs.
A man Harry doesn't know approaches with handcuffs. Harry asks, "May I get my glasses? Or have Janine get them?"
The man nods. "You, girl, go get them. Might want to get Mr. Potter a change of clothes as well."
Janine steps back quickly and hurries into the bedroom. When she emerges a moment later Harry's handcuffed and now standing in the middle of the living room. Another man takes the clothes she's got for Harry but she's allowed to put Harry's glasses on for him. Janine gives Harry a quick kiss after getting the glasses perched across the bridge of his nose.
"Tell Sirius and the Weasleys then get Pinky and Rocko and go somewhere safe," Harry says in a rush as she steps back.
"That's enough chit chat," the man, who has yet to identify himself as anything other than someone acting on Ministry's orders, barks out. He grabs Harry by the forearm then looks around at the others assembled. "I'll do a side along with Mr. Potter."
Seconds later Harry's blinking against the harsh light in a room, probably somewhere in the law enforcement department at the Ministry. Harry's walked into a smaller room and told to sit, wondering what the charges are against him, his mind already working overtime on how he's going to get out of this.
Incident
Author: Griet
Date: 02-08-08 08:47
With a bag loaded down with the least popular books the library had to offer (the pures always had first dibs on the most sought-after items), Griet headed to the Slytherin common room to get a little studying done. She had assignments in need of completing, as well the upcoming O.W.L. exams for which to prepare. Griet hadn't really done much studying for those dreaded end-of-year tests so far and felt that she needed to start, since June would be here before she knew it.
She hoped the books she borrowed from the library would help her. Griet had spent a long time selecting what she thought might be of any use, though she knew there were better books out there. She did put her name on the waiting list for several, but honestly didn't expect to ever lay her hands on them. As a non, she just didn't have the same pull as her pure classmates.
Griet chose the Slytherin common room for her study site, because nowadays, anyone who was anyone at all hung out at the Pureblood Only Common Room, and those nons who sought comfort with their friends from other houses often went to the ordinary commons on their free time.
At the portal to the common room, she stated the password "ermine" and passed into the virtually deserted chamber. There were certainly a few Slytherins about, but they were fairly quiet, even when talking in pairs.
Griet went to the empty sofa in front of the fireplace, dropped her bag, and sat down beside it. She began emptying it out, making a tall pile of books on the coffee table in front of her. Selecting one, she leaned back into the surprisingly not uncomfortable sofa back and flipped open the front cover of the book. She went a few pages forward to the table of contents, and then flipped to the back of the book for the index. Sometimes one just had to dig for the information one needed.
She sat there for a good fifteen minutes before someone sat down beside her and another person leaned over her shoulder.
"Clear off, Vanderbilt."
Griet didn't even glance up from her book. "Leave me alone, Smith."
"I think we'll keep bothering you until you move," Oberon said.
Gervaise, standing over Griet, plucked the book from her hands and threw it over his shoulder.
Griet stood up and instead of reach for her wand like was often a wizard's instinct, she threw herself over the back of the sofa and knocked Gervaise to the ground. He was certainly stronger than she was, but she'd caught him by surprise and managed to land a fist in his eye before he caught her by both wrists and pushed her off of him.
"Damn it, Vanderbilt," he said, somewhat calmly for someone who'd been such a jerk to her and had probably just gotten a black eye.
Oberon stood over them both, laughing. The few other students in the common room had all stopped what they'd been doing to watch with open-mouth surprise.
Gervaise sat up, still holding onto Griet's arms. She managed to sit up as well and pulled her arms away from him. Griet got to her feet, scooped up her book from the floor, and went around to the front of the couch. She sat down, fuming, and wishing her fist didn't ache so much. She'd never hit anyone before and hadn't even thought about how she might hurt herself in the process. To be honest, she hadn't been thinking much at all in the past few minutes.
Oberon continued to laugh. Gervaise got up, dusted himself off, and turned towards the dorm rooms with Oberon on his heels. When they both left the room, Griet couldn't help but start to cry. She did so quietly and only for a few minutes before wiping away the tears and resuming her studying.
Early Wakeup Call
Author: Drucilla Eternal
Date: 02-08-08 11:00
I was walking through Hogsmeade, key in hand. Locks danced in front of me, taunting me. Each time I raised my key to fit it inside the lock, it would dance away, clicking along the cobbled street in a rhythmic tap, tap, tap…
My eyes flew open. Snuggled cozily in the warm bed, I looked over at Sirius who was already throwing a robe on hastily. My head finally registered the tapping noise from my dream was actually someone knocking on our door. Urgently knocking on our door. I pushed the covers away and quickly grabbed a house robe to cover myself with. I met Sirius’s gaze. He mouthed the words “Look after the twins,” as he grabbed his wand and proceeded cautiously out of the bedroom.
Grabbing my own wand, even though my wand skills was about as good as a second year Hogwarts student, I crept out of the bedroom and into the hall. Positioning myself at the top of the stairs, ready to grab the twins if Sirius signaled it, I was surprised when Janine’s voice echoed loudly from downstairs.
I followed her voice to the front door, where Sirius had his hands on Janine’s shoulders as if trying to calm her.
“You need to do something, Sirius! You’re a Pureblood, you might be the only one who can get close to him!”
I felt a chill race up my spine as I took my place beside Sirius. It didn’t take a genius to deduct what was going on. Something was wrong. Something involving Harry.
“I have to go. I need to let the Weasley’s know. All the Weasleys. They might be able to help. I need to find Ron and Hermione too. I should have gone there first, but I thought Sirius…”
“Janine, you should come inside,” I murmured soothingly. “Let me get you a cup of tea.”
“No! I’m sorry Drucilla, I have to go. Please hurry Sirius.” Janine pleaded before she ran from the door and disappeared, off to inform the others of the situation.
“Drucilla.”
I looked up at Sirius, only then realizing I was clenching his arm painfully tight. Easing my grip, I stepped back from the door and pulled him along beside me.
“I need to…”
“You look after Harry, Sirius. Don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of the twins.”
“Janine…”
“I’ll find her too. Don’t worry, Sirius. Go to Harry.”
He looked at me for a long moment, before nodding and rushing up the stairs again. I took a moment to let everything sink in, before heading upstairs to look after the twins.
Letter from Jean
Author: Carys
Date: 02-08-08 11:55
Homer, Carys' barn owl, hooted happily when his excellent vision caught sight of Mon Chéri flying towards the house. Mon Chéri, Jean's owl, had been in Carys' care ever since Jean's arrest just over a year ago. The older owl carried a light goldenrod envelope that bore Carys' name and address on the front in olive script. Mon Chéri came in through the open attic window, nudged its beak against Homer's feathers, and then flew through the open trap door in the floor to find Carys.
Carys sat next to Tristan in the breakfast room and fed him oatmeal with applesauce and bananas. He lost all interest in his meal when Mon Chéri flew into the room and landed on the table next to Carys' elbow. In his glee, Tristan managed to spit out some food right into his mother's face.
Carys, laughing, put down the spoon and picked up a hand towel to wipe her face. Then she turned to her father's owl and took the envelope from its talons. Mon Chéri hooted, wanting payment. Carys leaned across the table and pulled over an uncovered bowl of owl treats, which she offered the bird. Mon Chéri ate sparingly and then flew up to the attic to be with Homer.
Meanwhile, Carys flipped the envelope and saw her father's return address: Jean Beauvais, Cellule 208, Bloc 4, Le Trou. Le Trou was the only wizarding prison in France, located in Montpellier, a mostly Muggle city. Like many wizarding structures in Muggle areas, Le Trou remained hidden by many enchantments, though the very bulk of the prison was located underground, hence its name: "the Hole."
Carys and Jean wrote to each other occasionally, though neither really had much to say to the other. Jean's life at Le Trou was more or less the same everyday, and Carys' daily adventures hardly varied either. The most she could share with him was how Tristan grew and changed. She often enclosed photos, which she imagined Jean had placed on the walls of his cell.
Carys tore through the seal and pulled the goldenrod parchment from its matching envelope. She tossed the empty envelope on the table and unfolded the letter, which read:
Dearest Carys,
What you wrote in your last letters worries me greatly. That your Minister of Magic can allow such blatant prejudice against you and others who are not considered "purebloods" is outrageous. It is my wish that you consider fleeing Cardiff and move to France. Bring your grandparents. You will be safe here. Please think about it in earnest. I am concerned that your living conditions will only get worse if you stay.
Carys stopped reading and put the letter down. Her life hadn't gotten considerably worse since losing her pureblood status, but she imagined if she were at Hogwarts she'd feel quite differently about it. Elizabeth, Juliet and Mindy wrote to her often these days, with updates on all the horrible things that were happening there. But what if Jean was right? What if things were going to get worse?
She sighed and looked at Tristan, who had managed to fall asleep in his chair. Bits of applesauce had dribbled onto his chin and onto the bib around his neck. Carys used the handtowel to gently wipe his face, then she removed the bib and gently lifted him from his high chair. She cuddled him close to her body and kissed his head. At least he didn't have to worry about the same prejudices... not yet, anyway.
Sixth Apparition Lesson
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 02-08-08 12:59
It is chilly, but not as cold as in weeks past. Unfortunately, it looks as if it might rain or snow, which will only bring the temperature down more. Fritz, dressed as warmly as possible, stands with his fellow apparition lesson classmates outside the barn on the Hogwarts grounds. As usual, Gerti Crouch leads the class, while Professors McGonagall, Snape, Miller and Flitwick look on.
Fritz hasn't managed to apparate yet, but he's come close several times. He hopes he'll be able to manage it this class period, since this is the sixth lesson of twelve total. He's really hoping the next six lessons will be reserved for perfecting the already learned task of disappearing from one spot and appearing in another.
Some of his classmates have already succeeded in apparating, some as early as the very second lesson. Fritz doesn't know whether to attribute it to talent or luck. Whatever the case may be, he doesn't dwell on it. He doesn't want to feel discouraged since they've done it and he hasn't yet. If he does think that way, it'll probably just prevent him from getting it right.
Fritz arranges his hoop in front of him, making sure it's flat on the ground and not uneven from the snow or rocks that might under it. While he's doing that, he thinks to a few days ahead, when Coco will turn seventeen. Fritz had his mother send him a backpack shaped like a turtle. Fritz knows that Coco is an animal person, able to talk to just about all of them except for snakes. He's not sure she's ever had a conversation with a turtle before, though. He just saw a picture of the backpack in a catalog and thought she'd find it cute. He plans on putting a bunch of stuff inside the backpack, like treats for Pea. Hopefully Coco will like her birthday gift.
With his hoop in place, Fritz stands up and gets ready to apparate. He thinks about the three Ds, destination, determination and deliberation. Fritz appears to turn on the spot but doesn't go anywhere. Shutting out Crouch's harsh words, Fritz tries again.
Sixth Lesson Turned to First Lesson
Author: Cailyn Spicer
Date: 02-08-08 15:22
Cailyn stood in front of a hoop in the great hall and even though this was the sixth Apparition lesson, it was only Cailyn’s first lesson. Her father had sent her two howlers in the past two weeks and with the last one, he had threatened to suspend her overly priced allowance this summer if she didn’t do her lessons and get better grades. Cailyn couldn’t imagine going a summer without her allowance, and so decided to go to her classes and lessons.
She had of course asked Paige for some help, but she couldn’t practice the lessons at all unless she was at the lessons. This frustrated Cailyn to no end. Though she understood why no one could apparate outside of Hogwarts or into Hogwarts.
So there she stood looking rather stupid in front of a hoop and feeling stupid too. Her mouth curved into a frown as she tried to concentrate on her destination which was inside of the hoop. She couldn’t imagine why she would ever want to apparate into a hoop, but whatever. Why couldn’t they try apparating into a room or something more practical then a boring old hoop? Though she did suppose that a hoop was as good a place to start as any.
Concentrate, she told herself. Picture yourself inside the hoop. It’s a boring little hoop, it can’t be that hard to Apparate into. Unfortunally it seemed to Cailyn that the more she concentrated the harder it was for her to Apparate. She totally failed this lesson, she didn’t even disappear. Well, that was what she got for not going the first six lessons. She would just have to try harder to Apparate her next lesson.
Protective Custody
Author: Travis
Date: 02-08-08 16:07
Travis stands with her brother Indigo, mother Morticia, step-father Roddrick, ex step-father Rupert McFusty, and his wife Hester. Rupert is starting to look apopletic as he curtly tells an officious pig faced woman, "I want my daughter released this instant."
They group turns as once at the silky voice from behind. "Morticia. Rupert. I am sorry for all this fuss. Please, come to my office."
Morticia, still bristling from the pig faced woman's refusal to be even slightly helpful, "Euphemia, I should like to know right this moment why Lisianthus was so uncerimoniously dragged from her bed this morning and brought here in shackles."
Minister Smythe-Jones gives them all a smile that Travis is certain the woman considers to be a benevolent one. For some reason it makes Travis angrier than she already is. The Minister gestures out the door, "If you'll come with me."
She turns and leaves the room, her bearing indicating that her words weren't a request and that she full expects to be followed.
The Minister leads them to her office, indicating Morticia and Rupert should follow her inside while the others remain in the outer office. At least she leaves the door open. She goes around to sit behiind her desk, tenting her fingers as she appraises the man and woman glaring at her.
"I do apologize for what took place this morning. There was a miscommunication. I had meant to come myself and explain to you why Lisianthus is being put in protective custody."
"Protective custody?" Rupert explodes. "What on earth for?"
Those in the outer office crowd more closely around the door so as not to miss a word of explanation. Travis and Indi exchange looks, each having the feeling that all this has something to do with Lisi listening in on the Minister's thoughts and how she suddenly one day couldn't tell them what she'd learned. But that was awhile ago, so why would she just now be brought in to the Ministry?
The Minister, who doesn't seem to be ruffled at all by being questioned so loudly, says, "Lisianthus is extremely gifted. She's used that gift to help our law enforcement division several times now. It came to our attention that a certain unsavory element might try to exact revenge. This morning I was to come personally to your house, Morticia, at a decent hour, and talk with you and Roddrick. Lisianthus too of course. She would have been given ample time to pack and taken to a lovely safe house, somewhere sunny and warm. As I explained, there was a miscommunication that unfortunately led to this morning's seige."
Slightly mollified, Morticia asks, "So we can see Lisi? She's not a prisoner in chains in one of those tiny little cells?"
"No, she's not in a cell, and not in chains; however, she has already been taken to the safe house."
"So take us there," Rupert demands, though this time he's not yelling.
"I'm sorry but for everyone's safety, I mustn't tell even you where Lisianthus is. I shall have her write you a letter and when Morticia brings a suitcase of Lisianthus's things, I'll have that letter for you."
In the outer office, Indi and Travis are exchanging glances again, neither fully believing the Minister, both now eager to leave so they can talk about what's going on and why.