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Kiss the Cook
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 02-19-18 18:49
The kitchen was a mess, and not because the family had just finished breakfast either. After evicting his wife and children from the room, Bill set about making the best steak marinade ever. Ingredients of varying kinds, measuring cups and spoons, and other kitchen tools were everywhere. It looked like a tornado had blown around room with no intention of leaving any time soon.
Fleur was not thrilled about her husband's obsession with red meat, which she ate sparingly because it was not very healthy. She could live with his flaw, though, because she knew things could be much, much worse. He could be a werewolf, or he could be dead. Instead, Bill was a disfigured man with an intense liking for rare meat, and he was on a mission at the moment.
The recipe called for soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, dried basil, dried parsley flakes, ground white pepper, hot pepper sauce, and minced garlic. Bill used his wand to mix it all together and then drenched it over a T-bone, which he then chilled with a cooling spell. It would sit there till dinner.
Bill turned to see Fleur standing in the doorway to the kitchen. She looked around at the mess but said nothing.
"I'll get it. Not to worry," Bill said with a smile that pulled at the scarring on his face.
"I'm glad you 'ave a 'obby, but pairhaps eet eez time to reeturn to your routine."
"You mean, go back to work?" Bill asked. "I've been thinking about it, but…"
In truth, there was no real excuse not to go back to work. Other than the scarring, Bill was completely healthy in mind and body. He wasn't nervous that Fenrir Greyback would pop around and attack him again, either. Bill wasn't even ashamed about his disfigurement, though he was considering getting work done on his face. He hadn't voiced his thoughts to Fleur yet, for no reason other than just because.
"But what?" Fleur asked.
Bill hesitated and then admitted, "I'm thinking about seeing a healer about my face… to make it less…" He waved a hand over it.
Fleur crossed the room to him and took his face with both hands. "Zere eez notheeng wrong weeth your face, but eef you want to talk to a 'ealer, go. Do what makes you 'appy." She kissed him then, on the lips, and on the scarring across his face.
Bill put his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her fair head. "What would I do without you?" he murmured.
(Malden) First Apparition Lesson
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 02-20-18 18:09
Malden was in the Great Hall with the other students eligible to take the apparition lessons. Like many of them, he was eager to learn how to transport himself from one location to another. Learning to apparate was a very grown-up thing, and Malden was tired of feeling like a child.
He listened to Professor Plaskitt go over the three Ds: Destination, Determination and Deliberation. The theory behind apparating was boring, and Malden was pretty sure he wasn't the only student to think so. He just wanted to do it already. Why did he have to actually think about feeling determined to deliberately move to his destination? Did theorizing honestly matter in the end?
After endless talking, Professor Plaskitt finally got to the good part. She conjured wooden hoops for every student in the room as well as one for herself. She demonstrated how to apparate, but of course she talked her way through it: Destination, Determination, and Deliberation! One minute she was outside her hoop, the next she was in it.
Then, she disapparated from her hoop back to her starting position. "And that is how it's done!" she announced. "Now, I want you all to try. Be cautious, and concentrate on what you are doing! Please begin."
Malden looked at his hoop. If he thought he would just appear it in without doing much else, he was sorely mistaken. He stared a bit harder. That didn't seem to do anything either. Malden leaned forward. Nothing. He strained the muscles in his neck, urging his body forward without taking a step. Nope. It just wasn't happening.
He looked around to see how others were doing, but nobody had yet managed to apparate. A few students looked constipated from their intense concentration (or determination?), and one had gone blue in the face from holding his breath.
Malden returned his gaze to his hoop. He wouldn't feel bad if he weren't the first student to successfully apparate, but he better not be the last.
Deadly Dull (Lilith & Savannah)
Author: Saffron
Date: 02-20-18 18:39
Katheryn, Callie, Marion, and Hope had told Lilith and Savannah how repetitive the apparitions lessons are. They'd said that hearing the same thing over and over for the entire length of a lesson for every single lesson could be mind numbing. Savannah had thought they exaggerated. Lilith thought they might be overstating things a bit.
They have both learned rather quickly just how wrong they were.
Lilith thinks the repetition serves as an almost group hypnosis to put everyone there into a focused state of mind to better master the art of apparating. Savannah thinks it's all deadly dull and her mind keeps wandering. Besides, Lilith always tends to master new to them magic faster than Savannah while Savannah tends to be quicker at putting a polish on whatever the magic is once she's gotten it.
That's why she's surprised, no, shocked when with each successive attempt to apparate her hoop jumps around more than Lilith's. Lilith's hoop, for the most part, is entirely inert. So far she's only had to reset it once whereas Savannah has reset hers every time. Neither are sure if that means anything though from what Lilith and Savannah can tell, most everyone else's hoops need to be straightened back to the start of the attempt position.
As much as Savannah's mind keeps wandering she starts to think that Lilith is doing it right. Clear mind. Focused on Professor Plaskitt's voice. Focused on her hoop. Savannah and everyone else are thinking of other things, such as the fact that there's a Quidditch match after the lesson ends. She takes a deep breath. All right, she tells herself, nothing but the three Ds. Destination. Deliberation. Determination. Or is it Deliberation, determination, destination?
Savannah shakes her head, refocuses on her hoop, and listens to Professor Plaskitt. Or tries to anyway. Maybe apparating is overrated and she'll end up sticking with the Floo and portkeys.
(Azaelia) Arranged Meeting
Author: Isolde
Date: 02-21-18 18:22
Azaelia took her visitor's pass and pinned it to the front of her robes. She was at the Ministry of Magic to meet with Robert, who she hadn't seen since the night of his arrest. Ministry officials had decided that Azaelia should visit on a Saturday, when there was less overall hullabaloo. Azaelia would have been glad to not see Robert until his trial, but the part of her that wanted answers agreed to his plea for her to visit him.
After checking in, Azaelia was directed to an area near the holding cells, where Robert had been kept ever since Christmas. She waited a few moments in a small, cramped room, at first unable to sit out of nervousness, but then glued to her chair, suddenly full of regret for coming to the Ministry. She should have stayed at Hogwarts and gotten ready for Slytherin's Quidditch match.
An auror Azaelia didn't recognize brought Robert into the room. His wrists were magically bound, and he wore plain white robes. He was led to a chair in the room. Robert sat, and the auror left the room. Azaelia was alone with her husband for the first time in over a month.
"I didn't think you would come," were the first words spoken.
Azaelia chewed her bottom lip and then asked, "What have you done, Robert?"
"Nothing," he replied. "I've done nothing but follow through with something both you and I believe in."
"I don't know what you mean," Azaelia replied.
"Oh, come off it! I know you, Isolde, Pyrrhus and that dead girl used to fill your minds with dark thoughts during Hogsmeade trips."
Azaelia instantly regretting telling Robert about the books she and her friends had read all those years ago.
"We were kids," Azaelia finally said. "We've grown up. We're not the same, and we're definitely not Death Eaters. How could you do it? How long have you been lying to me?" She leaned forward. "If you thought we were so like-minded, then why didn't you ever tell me about your plans?"
"I was under strict orders not to tell anyone," Robert said, and it was the truth, though deep down he had always known that Azaelia wasn't a dark witch. She wouldn't have understood, just like she doesn't understand now.
"Have you killed anyone?" she asked.
"No," Robert answered, and that was also the truth.
"Who else is a Death Eater?"
"You know I can't tell you that."
"Can't, or won't?" Azaelia asked. She wanted answers, even those that didn't really pertain to her or her husband.
"A bit of both," Robert said. "I can talk about the ones everyone knows about, but not the ones that have yet to be outed. If you want me to stay alive, then you better hope I keep my secrets," he added. He knew the risks about being caught.
"The public doesn't know about you yet," Azaelia said, "which means that your new friends don't either, though I'm sure they are wondering what's become of you." She frowned, wondering if another Death Eater would come to Hogwarts to look for Robert. "I think you should cooperate," she finally said.
Robert didn't say anything.
Azaelia stared at him hard and then said, "Things haven't been right between us for a long time, and this takes the cake. I want a divorce."
Robert leaned back in his chair and asked coolly, "Are you sure that's what you want?"
Azaelia hesitated and then said, "Yes." She didn't have the parchments drawn up yet, but now that her wishes were out in the open, she would make an appointment with a solicitor and get it done.
"Fine. Anything else?"
Azaelia rose to her feet. "No. I think we're done here. Goodbye, Robert."
Robert didn't respond. Azaelia was let out of the room, and then she navigated her way out of the Minsitry, leaving her visitor's badge behind before she exited the building.
A flashbulb blinded her eyes the moment she stepped out of the phone booth. "Mrs. Blackheart! Is it true that your husband was arrested on suspicion of being a Death Eater?"
Azaelia blinked rapidly and saw a woman in lime green robes and a man with a giant camera standing on the sidewalk. How on earth had the press found out about Robert, and how did they know to find Azaelia at the Ministry of Magic? She did the first thing that came to mind. Azaelia disapparated, and she was lucky she didn't splinch herself.
Guest Officiant
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 02-22-18 17:29
Viktor turns to the woman beside him. "Ready for this?"
"Always."
Rolanda Hooch grips her broomstick more tightly then reaches with her other hand to grasp a handle on the trunk with today's game balls. "You ever send the trunk ahead of you instead of carrying it?"
Viktor shakes his head. "I don't know why but I do always carry it or some of the students do. Did you?"
"Only once when I had sprained a wrist that same morning. No time to heal even with one of Poppy's potions."
The rest of the walk to the spot on the pitch where the balls will be released Viktor listens to Rolanda talk of one of the oddest matches she witnessed here at Hogwarts, not when she was on staff but was a student herself. Once there, they continue talking, Viktor sensing curiosity from those in the stands and those still scattered around the pitch making their way to seats. Rolanda Hooch is well known to many on staff and should be to a number of the adult spectators joining the audience for today's Ravenclaw versus Slytherin match but to most of the students, her face is likely unfamiliar. If told her name, some would instantly know who she is while others would continue to be puzzled.
Viktor is excited to have Madam Hooch here today, not to watch the game but to help him officiate. He first met Rolanda back during the TriWizard Tournament. There was no official Quidditch at Hogwarts and the pitch was where the maze for the final task was being grown but that hadn't kept some of them from flying around the grounds. No Quidditch playing to speak of but a little flying here and there plus when Durmstrang's contingent first arrived, there were Hogwarts first years still learning their way around a broom.
Rolanda contacted him recently to say she'd be in Hogsmeade this weekend and would be meeting up with some of her former Hogwarts colleagues. Though Viktor and she had never worked together would he like to join them after the match? Learning she'd be here to see the match Viktor asked if she'd like to take part. He half-expected her to say no but she'd readily agreed.
Out of deference to her former position here and her years of experience and that he's younger than she is, Rolanda will be the head officiant today, even releasing the balls and speaking with the team captains.
They turn their attention to the locker room doors as the game's announcer welcomes everyone and begins the introduction of the teams.
McCourts at the Match
Author: Sophie McCourt
Date: 02-23-18 02:42
Sophie was at the stands, ready to watch the match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. She sat next to Caleb and both were quite frustrated. They had been very excited to have their first apparition lesson ever. However, they had both walked out of the Great Hall without making any sort of apparition.
"I'm going to the library later," Caleb said, adjusting his Ravenclaw scarf. "I thought I had read everything I could about apparition but clearly I've been missing something. Or perhaps I have failed in one of the three Ds. That must be it."
"Jasper said it's hard to do it at first, but once you get the hand of it, then it comes quite naturally," Sophie declared.
She had kept exchanging letters with Jasper Pole, since their blind date at Hogsmeade. She was eager to see him again but so far there hasn't been an opportunity for that.
"What did I miss?" Patricia asked, joining Caleb and Sophie.
She was carrying a small flag with the Ravenclaw colors. She didn't like to play quidditch and she could find better things to do than sitting in a pitch and watch the match. But Caleb would be there, and so she made sure she was there too, using the excuse she was going to watch her sisters playing today, as well as supporting her house. She was glad Sophie was oblivious to some of the looks she exchanged with Caleb. Since she met that wizard that Honoria had set her up with, Sophie seemed somewhat aloof to everything else.
"Nothing yet. But it is about to start," Sophie said.
As the players entered the field, and their names were being announced, Patricia asked Caleb the time. She usually didn't carry a watch with her and she thought she should have bought a watch in the same shop where she bought her Secret Santa gift to Rand Prinsloo. She had offered Rand a watch. It wasn't a very personal gift, but it was a useful one and she hoped he had liked it.
Meanwhile all the players were at the pitch, ready for the match to begin. Belinda and Charlotte placed themselves in position, as Malden shook hands with Paton. Both Ravenclaw and Slyhterin had won their previous matches, so the team that won this match would probably be closer to win this year's Quidditch cup.
Coach Krum was going to officiate the match with the help of a special guest, a witch named Rolanda Hooch. Belinda never heard of her before. She thought she wouldn't hold the match's rhythm, but when she saw the agility when she hopped into her broom, and the grace of her flight, she decided perhaps she was wrong.
The quaffle was thrown in the air and Franciscus was the first to touch it. He held it tight and tried to discover the best route to the Slyhterin hoops guarded by Maurice. He shifted his broom to the right, exploring the right wing of the pitch. Belinda ignored Franciscus, since Malden was the one on his tail. Instead she kept close to Paton, in case Franciscus decided to pass him the quaffle. But it was to Seth that the quaffle was delivered to. Seth moved forward with his broom, keeping himself still on the right aisle of the pitch. However, he was pestered by Charlotte. She had glued himself to him and tried to steal him the quaffle. It wasn't possible to see how this confront would end, because a bludger from Noah split Charlotte from Seth, as they were both in the heavy ball's collision course. Free from Charlotte, Seth was able to get closer to the hoops. He then passed the quaffle to Paton. Belinda tried to intercept it, but he got there first.
The Ravenclaw chasers were controlling the first minutes of the match. Paton flied at high speed, Belinda right after him, but he had a small advantage. Paton then simulated a pass to Franciscus, but he actually offered the ball to Seth. Seth tried to score, but Maurice made a defense.
Both the Ravenclaws and Slyhterins in the stands clapped their hands: the first cheering for the team's attack, the others the defense. Maurice passed the quaffle to Malden. He gained a bit of altitude. Belinda advanced and Charlotte did the same but loosing some altitude. Having the three chasers in different levels of altitude, confused the Ravenclaw chasers a bit, as they tried to organize themselves on who would go after who. This allowed Malden to throw down the quaffle at high speed to Belinda who after receiving it, threw it just like Malden did to Charlotte, a few meters ahead and below.
Then Malden and Belinda joined Charlotte, now closer to the Ravenclaw hoops. Paton went after Charlotte and Malden was being covered by Franciscus. Belinda was still free, as Seth approached. She asked the quaffle to Charlotte, her eyes already on the hoops guarded by her sister. Unlike Sophie, she didn't care about hurting Eileen's pride. It didn't matter if it was her sister or someone else guarding the hoops: Belinda wanted her team to score as many goals as possible and crush the Ravenclaw's last line of defense.
Unlike Belinda, Eileen did mind the fact she was playing against her sister in a quidditch match. Last match she had played against Sophie, but today it was different. She was a keeper and Belinda a chaser. There would be some moments of direct confrontation, and she just hoped to be up to it. While she was having breakfast before the match, Belinda had come to the Ravenclaw table and warned her she was not going to be soft with her. Unlike Sophie who had shaken her hand in a sportsmanship way and wished her good luck, Belinda just warned her to be prepared to lose, because she was going to do everything she could to bring victory to her team. Eileen hadn't replied, but she promised herself to do everything she could not to allow her sister to score. Perhaps it wasn't the best line of thinking, but she left the breakfast table thinking she wouldn't mind Malden and Charlotte to score as many goals as they liked, but that she would prevent Belinda from scoring.
Eileen watched has Belinda had asked the quaffle to Charlotte. Charlotte made the pass, but Belinda was only able to be with the quaffle for a minute before she was hit in the arm by a bludger. That made her to drop the quaffle. Paton was about to get it, but the same bludger that hit Belinda was now targeting him, because Asher had managed to reach it before Kurt and deviated its course. In the end the quaffle was again in Charlotte's hands. She moved forward with her broom, and shot the quaffle to the left. Eileen was able to guess the side to which the quaffle was heading at, and she used her first to pull it out of the way, before it passed the hoop.
Unfortunately, the Slytherin team got the quaffle back. The bludger hit didn't seem to affect Belinda much, as she was able to reach the quaffle before Franciscus. She tried a second shot, this time to the middle hoop. Eileen used all her strength and determination and she was able to make another defense, this time in a very unorthodox, put still effective way, using her foot to shove off the quaffle.
Seth was closer to it and he held the quaffle safely in his hands, quickly trying to take the red ball out of such dangerous area.
Also on the stands was Magnus. His face was painted with the Slytherin colors. He and Ned kept singing supporting chants to the Slytherin team. Now that it was Seth Weasley holding the quaffle they started booing him. Magnus started to regret that he had offered Seth a broomstick maintenance quit. He had ordered it from Coach Krum's shop, Krum's Completely Quidditch. It had been a somewhat expensive gift, but when he wrote his parents asking for the money, they didn't seem to mind. His father told him that if it was something he thought would make Seth happy, then he should go for it. Ned had been a little bit jealous: the kit had a special trimming scissor, and not one but two cleaning oils, since one of them was lemon scented. There was also a pair of googles for rainy days.
Magnus didn't know Seth but he wanted to impress him. He was a older student, a quidditch player and part of a famous wizard family, which some of the school staff also belonged to. It was important not to give him a lousy gift. But now, seeing Seth's flight, Magnus thought maybe he shouldn't have offered him such a present. He had actually been helping an enemy house. Next time perhaps he would offer Seth some chocolates.