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Visitor
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 06-05-11 14:38
"Hello? Is anybody home?"
The voice came from the living room. Bronwyn was still in her pajamas (a lavender camisole and drawstring bottoms of the same shade with much darker, vertical stripes). She was in her room, brushing one of the cats.
At the sound of the voice, Bronwyn got up an slipped on a light robe, though she didn't tie it shut. She padded into the living room and found Anthony's head in the fireplace.
"What's up, Anthony?" Bronwyn asked, coming to a kneel in front of him.
"Is this a bad time?"
"If you want to talk to Toby, he's in the shower. It's not a bad time for me, though."
"It's you I want to speak with. Can I come over?"
"Yes, do."
Bronwyn got up and moved out of the way so that Anthony wouldn't crash into her when he came in through the floo network. He arrived a few moments later.
"Have you had breakfast?"
"Early this morning when Alex decided he couldn't sleep anymore," Anthony said.
"Does that mean you have a little bit of an appetite? Want some tea?"
"Just tea will be fine for now."
Bronwyn gestured for him to follow her into the kitchen. A pot of English breakfast tea had already been brewed. Bronwyn took the cup she'd drunk out of earlier and refilled it for herself and then got out a clean cup and saucer for Anthony.
They settled at the breakfast table.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Bronwyn asked. She had a strong feeling that the visit was business, not personal.
"First of all, have you recovered any more memories?" Anthony asked. He lifted his cup to his lips and took a small sip. The tea was quite hot.
"Not a one," Bronwyn replied. "I'm trying not to feel frustrated about it, particularly since I was told way back when that I would never recover any of my memories. The fact that I've recovered a few glimpses is pretty miraculous."
Anthony looked a bit disappointed but not too much. He produced a folder and opened it up on the table. "I went to Borgin & Burkes with a search warrant the other day. I wanted to find out more about that wedding dress you saw in your memory."
He pulled out a piece of parchment and said, "This is a copy of an inventory log." He pointed out a particular line item. "Cursed wedding dress. Acquired May 19, 2001." Then he pulled out another piece of parchment. "This is a copy of the sales receipt. One cursed wedding dress, sold July 28, 2001. Do you know what that means?"
"That I was in Knockturn Alley sometime between the dates of May 19, 2001 and July 28, 2001," Bronwyn replied.
"Right."
"I might be able to narrow it down a bit more," Bronwyn said. She got up and disappeared into another room for a while. When she came back, Anthony had nearly emptied his cup. Toby trailed into the room behind her and clapped his hand on his younger brother's shoulder before grabbing some more tea for himself.
She handed Anthony a scrapbook of newspaper articles. Most of them featured Toby, who was in the paper often because of his Quidditch matches. A few featured Bronwyn. She flipped to a certain page and then tapped the article in question.
"EMRYS FEST ROCKS ST. EMRYS UNIVERSITY," Anthony read the headline aloud. The article was written on July 15, 2001. The festival had been the day before.
"I know my absence happened before Emrys Fest."
"I remember you saying that."
"Also, I have this," Bronwyn said. She produced a file in which she kept medical records. One was from June 22, 2001. "This is from when my parents took me to St. Mungo's after I showed up after having been missing for five days."
"June 22, 2001," Anthony murmured, "the day after the Solstice."
"Yeah, I was just thinking that. I had to have been there, Anthony. I just know it." She glanced over at Toby, who was standing in the kitchen, drinking his tea, and observing the pair quietly.
"You said all those girls who have been dug up in those mass graves... that their blood had been drained. What if what I saw... that line of blood floating in the air, was that very thing happening?"
"Could be," Anthony said. "I wish you could remember more."
"Me too, even though I'm not sure I really want to. I have another session tomorrow afternoon. If I remember anything new, I'll tell you."
"Thanks. I should be in the office unless something comes up."
Anthony gathered his parchment together and asked if he could borrow Bron's scrapbook and the medical record from the summer she went missing. She gave them to him freely, hoping they would help him break the case well before June 21, 2005 rolled around.
Anthony stayed for only a little while longer and then left for home, or maybe the office to get a little work done. Toby came over to Bronwyn and sat down next to her.
"I'm really proud of you, you know."
"I hope you'll still feel that way when the whole truth comes out."
Toby put his arm around his wife. "I have faith that everything will turn out just fine."
Bronwyn leaned her head on his shoulder. "I hope you're right."
"I'm always right."
Bronwyn laughed.
Fighting Cousins
Author: Lilac Middleton
Date: 06-05-11 15:03
“Cryil, I want to play with Rosie. Besides, Lil promised that I could watch her.”
“Thomas, you’re too little to watch a pig.” Cyril said pushing his brother away from the little pink piggy who squealed as a result of the shove. Rosie didn’t like violence around her.
“I am not! I’m old enough to be in Hogwarts aint I?” Thomas nearly all but shouted to his older brother.
“So, you’re still a baby.”
“I am not!”
“You are too!”
“I am not!”
“Lilac!!!” Thomas began to shout for his older cousin, just as she rounded the corner, having heard the whole thing from the hallway into the courtyard.
“Cyril, I told Thomas he could watch Rosie, because, Rosie likes Thomas better than you. Look at her, poor piggy. You got her all wild up with your fighting.” Lil said scooping her small teacup piggy up into her arms. Rosie finally stopped squealing. It was clear, that Lilac was whom she had wanted all along.
“But, she wasn’t squealing before Thomas, insisted on being a pest.” Cyril said giving Lilac the little leash he had made for the very pig who didn’t like him.
“Thomas only insisted on being a pest because you were pestering him. Honestly, Cyril, I can’t understand how Thomas can be more mature than you. When you are older.” Lilac scolded making Cyril glare at her.
“If you weren’t my cousin, I’d teach you a lesson for insulting me all the time.”
“And if you touch Lilac, I’ll tell Momma.” Cee said now, standing between the two cousins. She glared at her younger brother.
“I wasn’t going to do anything.” Cyril complained.
“Uh-uh. Make sure you don’t. I’m sure you don’t want to get a howler from Mother.” Cee winked at Thomas who giggled. “Like last time, when Lilac ended up in the mud. “
“That was because of you? I thought a teacher had seen it and told on me. You’re my sister! You shouldn’t be tattling.”
“And you should respect your family.”
“You tell him Cee!” Thomas said moving towards his sister.
“Bah! I didn’t want to watch the stupid pig anyway.” Cyril said running off to sulk.
“Goodness, Cee, I’d never know he was part of the family, if it weren’t that he didn’t look like us.” Lilac said.
“Yes he seems to have the mean streak of the family. Oh well, he’ll grow outta it.” Cee commented with a shrug.
What If
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 06-05-11 15:20
Lilly sucked on a bottle that Ethan held for her while he read The Daily Prophet at the breakfast table. She had become an extension of his body; always in his arms, in his lap, on his hip, or tucked into a baby sling strapped to his body. The only time she'd not been glued to his side had been during class. Ethan had resumed teaching his classes last week.
To date, there had only been snippets in The Daily Prophet about the homicide at Hogwarts and the arrest of a student, but the name Penn Ellison had never appeared in the newspaper to "protect the underage wizard involved". The general public might not ever know the whole truth about Penn, or rather who Penn really was, which was just as well. The concept of taking one wizard's soul and implanting it into another wizard's body should never become common knowledge.
Although Ethan wasn't directly involved in the investigation, he'd gotten some updates on the case. Penn/Hattie was still in Ministry of Magic custody, awaiting trial. Ethan would surely get called in to testify.
Lilly finished drinking and wiped at her eyes with the backs of her small hands. She was tired.
Ethan got up and carried her to her bassinet. He gently set her down and tucked a blanket around her. As he watched her drift off to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder why Penn/Hattie hadn't taken Lilly when she'd had the chance. Why stay in that alcove with the baby? Why not flee the castle?
Hattie had experience stealing babies, after all. She'd done it to him when he'd been a newborn.
All Ethan could think was that Penn/Hattie had wanted to get caught. She'd wanted to gloat about what had been done, to see the reaction firsthand on Ethan's face.
Then another thought occurred to him. What if she'd done something to Lilly? The thought made him want to rip her from the bassinet and take her straight to St. Mungo's for a thorough check-up, but he stayed his hand. It was probably just his imagination running wild. Or was it?
He stared at the sleeping baby for a long moment and then looked away. The what-ifs were likely to make him utterly mad.
Ethan forced himself from the nursery and went back into the breakfast room to finish reading the newspaper.
Unexpected Surprise
Author: Karma Davyd
Date: 06-05-11 18:23
I would be starting classes at St. Emry’s tomorrow, and of course that was a reason to go shopping. I’d not managed to make the Quidditch game yesterday at Hogwarts, though I’d heard about it my last trip into the village. I’d need to find out the score as I’d spent most of the day further arguing with my mother who had decided that she would make her presence known in my flat. Dear God I wanted to strangle her by dinner. Thankfully she left this morning to find a hotel for the remainder of her three and a half day stay…at least I wouldn’t have the urge to murder her in her sleep at this point.
At this moment, I was curled on my sofa with a hand held WWN device resting on the side table and listening to a song by The Weird Sisters and flipping through my textbook for my first class tomorrow. I’d be taking Advanced Ancient History, Advanced Greek Mythology, and Advanced Linguistics – Runes, and a language lab that I would have two days a week. All in all my schedule was pretty lax as far as class meeting days. I had Ancient History on Monday and Friday and I had Advanced Greek Mythology on Tuesday and Thursday and Advanced Linguistics – Runes on Thursday and Friday evenings. The books hadn’t been too expensive, and I was thankful for that. At the moment, I was flipping through my Advanced Linguistics book, refreshing my memory on the runes that I’d been translating back in St. Petersburg.
I double checked the schedule that I had received via owl the other day, thanking whatever God would listen that I didn’t have to wake up for class at eight A.M. My first class wasn’t until ten A.M. which meant that I could take my time getting ready and possibly zip over to the Starbucks just around the corner and grab an iced mocha before I floo’d to campus. Any and all thoughts that I’d had on that thought were stalled the moment someone knocked on my door, getting up to answer the insiant knocking I instantly regretted it.
“Come to berate my choices again Mother?” I said, unable to keep the exasperation or the annoyance out of my voice.
“No. I came to invite you to dinner with me and your father tonight. Also, there is someone I’d like you to meet.” She said and before she could say anything else I cut her off.
“Seriously Mother, you are going to try and set me up with someone? You are going to turn this dinner invitation into a blind date. No. I am not looking for a relationship, I am still getting my feet under me here. I start at Uni tomorrow…in less than twelve hours I will be sitting in my first advanced class to propel my degree further. Then, come September I will be teaching at Hogwarts.” I said, still unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice.
My mother came fully in and shut the door to my flat so the neighbors wouldn’t hear any more of the argument – it also helped that I had the sound muffled around the apartment…I don’t do nosey neighbors listening through walls or out in the hallway. “Karma Davyd. You will speak with me with respect this instant. I am your mother and I will not be disrespected by a willful child.”
I opened my mouth to retaliate however, thought better of it and shut my mouth, indicating that my mother should continue and that I would not interrupt her further. “No. This is not a blind date, this is not a ruse to get you to meet someone. The person you will be meeting tonight is…” My mother paused as she floundered for the right way to describe the man to me, this couldn’t be a good thing, or maybe it could…I have no idea at this point. “Someone from the Ministry of Magic, specializing in Historical events and he wishes to meet you and perhaps hire you on for some specialized research while you are attending classes at Uni.”
I blinked and wondered briefly how my parents had met someone like that from the British Ministry and then thought that perhaps he’d been in Mumbai and he’d eaten at my Father’s eatery in the city. It could be, but I wasn’t concerned about that right now. “Alright, that’s fine. What time is dinner and where?” I asked, still somewhat shell shocked at the possibility.
“The curry place just around the block from here, and eight thirty tomorrow evening, provided you are home from classes by then.” She said taking my words as an apology for my earlier outburst.
“Alright, and yeah, I should be home by then.” I said and showed my mother out. I tuned back into the program I’d been listening to before retiring to the shower and changing into my favorite pair of silk pajama pants and matching camisole before I curled into the large four-poster bed that dominated one wall of my bedroom.