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A New Note
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 12-20-09 12:23
It may have only been the morning of Valentine's Day, but Lysander was already getting ready for his date with Astrid later that evening. He planned on cooking an intimate dinner for the both of them at his flat, but first he needed to clean from top to bottom and then pick up fresh groceries. He also wanted to pick up a gift he'd ordered for her especially––a necklace with a diamond pendant. Hopefully it would make Astrid forget about the engagement ring Varus Ingram had wanted to give her and which he'd thrown at her feet in anger after learning of her indiscretion with Lysander.
Lysander knew he shouldn't be jealous of Varus anymore. After all, he'd won. Astrid was his now. Still, he couldn't help but see green each time he thought of the man who'd been with his Astrid for so many years and who had almost asked her to marry him.
Varus had hardly been present in Hogsmeade since before Christmas, and only recently Lysander had noticed a sign in the window of Scrivenshafts seeking new management. Perhaps Varus found it unbearable to work in the same small village as the man who'd stolen his girlfriend. That, at least, made Lysander smile.
When Charlotte padded into the kitchen, where Lysander was wiping down every surface until it gleamed, and announced that it was time for shopping, Lysander decided to put cleaning up on pause and stop by Gringotts in Hogsmeade and then Amber's in Diagon Alley, where Astrid's gift was on reserve.
Charlotte already had her coat and mittens on, so Lysander helped her into a pair of pink rain boots patterned with small red hearts and put a knitted cap onto her dark, curly head. Then Lysander put on his shoes and a coat and taking Charlotte by the hand, stepped outside, locked up, and headed up High Street to the bank.
It was eerily quiet inside Gringotts, not that it was ever a party there. Lysander had heard that Bill Weasley had up and vanished last weekend and that the circumstances were very mysterious. As much as he loathed the man, Lysander's hatred toward the Weasel stemmed only from their childhood rivalry at Hogwarts. He didn't think Bill would just leave his family without saying anything first, so he wondered what he'd done to get himself on the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement's missing persons list.
It didn't take Lysander long to get coins from his vault. The older witch in charge of the building worked efficiently, though she obviously seemed distraught about her boss' mysterious disappearance. She sighed continuously, which started to drive Lysander a bit batty after a while.
Soon he and Charlotte were outside on High Street again. It looked like it might start snowing soon; the clouds were heavy overhead. Lysander got ready to do a side-along apparition with Charlotte, when a dark speck appeared in his line of vision, clearly visible against the thick white clouds and gray sky overhead. For a moment, Lysander tensed because he thought he knew the owl, but when it drew nearer he realized he'd never seen it before.
It flew directly towards him and dropped an envelope over him. Lysander caught it before it fluttered to the ground.
"Who wrote it, Daddy?"
It wasn't marked. "I'm not sure, Charlotte," Lysander replied. He debated whether to save reading it for later, especially since he wanted to get out of the cold and to Diagon Alley, but curiosity overwhelmed him and he broke through the plain wax seal on the back.
The note consisted of a single line in block lettering that differed completely from the slanted script in the threatening notes he'd received in the recent past.
YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE.
Lysander's blood chilled. Despite the different handwriting, had it come from the same source, or did he have yet another person after him? He turned and gazed across the street at Scrivenshafts.
"Daddy?" Charlotte tugged on her father's hand.
He looked down at his daughter, crumpling the letter and envelope in his hand before stuffing them both in his coat pocket.
"Yes, dear?"
"I'm cold."
"Me too. Hold on tight."
The note wasn't forgotten, but he had another priority to deal with right now.
Making It Official
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 12-20-09 15:19
Harry apparates into his backyard, walks over to Hedwig's cozy shed to check on the snowy owl and spend a few minutes with her, then after making sure the patio was clear of icy patches, Harry enters his house through the kitchen door. Not expecting anyone home, he's somewhat surprised that Pinky is bustling around with Rocko passed out across the open doorway leading into the living room. Pinky wordless motions for Harry to sit at the breakfast nook table and brings over a steaming muc.
"Pinky's secret hot chocolate recipe," the House Elf informs him. "Belgian waffles?"
Harry hadn't thought he was hungry but the combination of aromatic smells wafting through the kitchen and being verbally offered the scrumptious dish has his stomach rumbling. "Yes, please. Thanks, Pinky."
Pinky has a plate to Harry in seconds and before Harry can ask how he was able to have one ready so quickly the House Elf says, "Rocko and Pinky saw, and heard, Harry apparate."
Harry nods in understanding. "Thanks again for this." After a bite he says, "This is great. The hot chocolate too."
Pinky's got his hands clasped together and deep lines of worry etch his forehead. "Bill Weasley is still missing?"
Sighing, Harry nods again. "Yes, and no clues have turned up yet. It's very frustrating. Fleur and Molly are worrying themselves sick."
Pinky's hands twist together and Harry thinks that at any moment that Pinky will start fiercely wringing them. It's almost painful to watch the way the small creature is gripping his own hands. "Is something else wrong, Pinky?"
"Miss Janine is here, in her room."
"It is her room," Harry says matter-of-factly, belying the fact that his chest just tightened.
"Today is Valentine's Day."
"Is it? I'd not even thought about it," Harry truthfully replies. Between regular work and helping search for Bill, for days now Harry's only been home to sleep, shower, and change clothes. Actual dates and what day of the week it is at any given moment have all blurred together.
"I think what Pinky's trying to say," Janine says, stepping over Rocko's still sleeping form, "or what he's trying to do, rather, is gently prepare you for some news."
Around the mouthful of waffle he's just taken, Harry simply inquires, "Oh?"
Janine crosses the space from the doorway to the table and sits down opposite Harry before speaking again. Harry can smell the all too familiar just out of the shower Janine scent. With a pang he think he knows what's coming but keeps chewing in silence to give Janine the chance to put words to what he's thinking.
"We've never officially broken up, Harry, but we've not truly been together for awhile now."
Harry tactfully refrains from snarkily pointing out, "Whose fault is that?"
"As you know, along with working at St. Emrys again, I've been taking a couple of classes. I'm in a study group for one and there's someone in the group whom I've gone for drinks with a few times. I accepted an invitation from him to a party this evening."
Harry, his meal finished, pushes his empty plate to the side and leans forward, elbows going on the table, fingers interlocking. He gazes at Janine across his tented hands as she watches for his reaction. When she looks to be growing uncomfortable with the silence, Harry tells her, "Thank you for taking the time to tell me to my face, Janine. Enjoy your evening."
Harry stands up to leave the kitchen but stops when Janine blurts out, "Are you being sarcastic?"
"Did I sound it?"
"Well, no."
"Okay then."
"That's all you have to say?"
"What else do you want? Do you want me to rant? I've done that before with you ranting right back and it got us nowhere. Why would it be any different now?"
"I was just expecting," she stops. Shrugs. Then finishes with, "I don't know."
"I'm very tired and have had little sleep for days and am not going to be getting any now. I came home to shower and change clothes then need to get back to work."
"You're off this morning. Oh, for Bill."
"Yeah, for Bill."
Harry and Janine look at each other for another long moment then Harry turns to go shower and change. At least he's got something pressingly important to keep him occupied from having to think about being officially dumped on Valentine's Day.
In the Dark
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 12-21-09 08:29
By now, Bill had gotten used to being in the dark. The man who'd kidnapped him had taken him to a house and locked him in an empty closet, with only a threadbare blanket to keep him company. Once the fogginess from whatever had initially knocked him out had worn off, Bill had tried breaking out of the closet. His hands and feet hadn't been bound, so he had mobility, albeit limited because of his cramped quarters.
The door was charmed shut, though, and beyond that there was a barrier that could only be lifted by the caster. The spell was removed from time to time, such as when Bill received bathroom breaks or food. Unfortunately, he never found the opportunity to make his escape then, because his captor always had a wand on him, and sometimes there was more than one person present in the house.
Bill recognized one as the man who'd stopped by the bank and asked his name. As strange as that visit had been back then, it obviously made sense now. The wizard had been identifying his target, but for what purpose? That was something Bill still didn't know. Did they want money? Was it something else entirely? As for the others he'd seen come and go since the week he'd spent there, Bill wasn't sure who they were, though he'd started to suspect that some might be related to that man.
Despite the uncomfortable conditions he'd been placed in, Bill hadn't been too mistreated in the past week. They didn't feed him the best or tastiest meals on the planet, but at least they weren't starving him to death. Sometimes they got a little rough with him when transporting him between the closet and the bathroom, but he hadn't really been tortured. They wouldn't answer his questions about why he had been taken, though, and that in and of itself agonized his mind. He didn't like being in the dark, especially when his future was at stake.
It wasn't himself he was the most worried for, though. He was concerned for his family, who was probably worried sick right now. Whatever his reasons for being wherever he was, Bill hoped that it wouldn't be for long and that he'd soon be reunited with his family, especially his Fleur and Victoire, whom he was missing terribly on this Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day
Author: Lawrence Masterson
Date: 12-22-09 18:04
Lawrence spent the morning overseeing the Second Apparition lesson in the Great Hall and desperately hoped that his house elf would arrive soon with the gift he'd purchased for his wife for Valentine's Day. He had a romantic evening planned for her - as he did not have to chaparone the Valentine's Day Dance coming up tonight. He knew she was probably wanting to study for an exam or something that she had coming up during the week at St. Emry's but tonight - he simply wanted to spend some time with her.
The group of seventh years that he was currently over seeing were managing to not splinch themselves more than a finger, an ear, or a foot. In fact they were for the most part perfectly managing to get themselves from their original hoop to the destination hoop and back. Of course it took some effort - because the magics were tricky - and if not done correctly one could leave an important body part behind.
Lawrence tried to remember if he'd ever splinched himself when he was learning to apparate. He shrugged his shoulders, and turned his attention back to the students - he left the group he was watching to help unsplinch a seventh year Ravenclaw who had quite merrily left behind her top half. Once she was whole again, Lawrence turned his attention back to his group of students.
Once the lessons were over, Lawrence retreated to his quarters and smiled when he saw the box resting on the kitchen table. "Good. It's here." He then set about getting ready to start preping the dinner he would be making for Ariella.
Chaperone
Author: Jolyon
Date: 12-22-09 18:07
Jolyon paced along the edge of the Great Hall, watching the second apparition lesson in progress. It was nearing its end, but it wasn't quite over yet. Professor Flitwick had chaperoned the first lesson last Saturday but had had a pressing engagement this morning which required Jolyon to attend in his stead. Jolyon didn't mind, of course. He'd chaperoned apparition lessons before, last year when things had been decidedly less pleasant around Hogwarts and in the world at large.
For the most part, Jolyon paid close attention to the students as they practiced apparating from a spot outside a hoop into said hoop located directly in front of them. Whenever a student got splinched, Jolyon sometimes helped to reverse the aftereffects.
When things were slow, as they were now with the class at its very end, Jolyon's mind wandered. That morning over breakfast and owl had flown in from the rafters of the Great Hall and delivered a letter from his mother: A Valentine's Day card, to be exact. It gave the standard well wishes on the day when love was most in the air as well as a not-so-subtle hint that Jolyon needed to find himself a girlfriend so that he could eventually make Bridget Kent a grandmother.
There was no mention of Jolyon's father, not that he expected or wanted there to be.
A shriek very near Jolyon's ear pulled his attention away from his thoughts and to the task at hand. He rushed over to the sixth year who'd managed to splinch her entire left arm from the shoulder. It hovered grotesquely in the air where the rest of her body had just been.
Jolyon worked his magic, which concealed the armless student and her bodyless arm in a cloud of purple smoke. All of a sudden, they were whole again.
And with that, the second apparition lesson ended.