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Student Sleuths (AJ)
Author: Furnella Hodfuffer
Date: 05-14-07 18:51
AJ walks a few minutes after his 3:30 to 5 class of 4th years ends. He'd wrapped up the last of the lessons for the term. All that's left for the 3rd and 4th years now is review for the final examinations. The 5th years are done entirely. This morning marked that group's last class in Ancient Runes before O.W.L.s begin on Monday. Tomorrow morning AJ will finish lessons with the 6th years in preparation for their final exams and finish N.E.W.T. review with the 7th years. Hard to believe the school year is nearly completed.
Taking an apple out of one of the top drawers of his desk, AJ munches on it as he begins working through the pile of 4th year homework parchments turned in at the start of today's class. He's gotten through only a couple when there's a knock on the door frame.
Looking up AJ smiles at Coco Nutt. "Come in. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to see me."
Coco of the blue hair and barefoot smiles in return. "Thank you fer, I mean for, drawin' me, my name in your contest."
On career day AJ had had boxes available to members of each of the four houses. Students of any year could enter up to five times in the drawings. At the end of career day AJ drew on name from each house's box. Those four students will be the inspiration of student detectives in a new series AJ is launching. The student of each novel will not only be inspired by a real student but will also share that student's name. For Gryffindor, the student is Bailey Gray. Ravenclaw is Coco, Hufflepuff's Alanna Beck, and representing Slytherin is Griet Vanderbilt. He's even got partial titles for the Gryffindor and Slytherin books, Gryffindor Gumshoe and Slytherin Sleuth. Sure, a little hackneyed but all in the good sense of fun these books represent.
AJ dips a quill into one of the several bottles of ink scattered around his desk. "Ready to be interviewed, Miss Nutt?"
"Ask away, Perfessor."
"You are an only child?"
"Yes, sir."
"Parents' names?"
"Me, my mum's name was Butyr. That's B-u-t-y-r. She died just after Oi, I were, was born. She niver, never said who me dad is. My dad I mean."
"Why do you do that? Correct your own speech?"
"I'm tryin' not to speak wif, with so much slang. Proper helocution, I mean elocution, is important ta, to succeed even if I'm only going to work wif, with animals."
AJ nods. That makes sense. It will also be a very nice little detail to make Coco in the novel seem more real. AJ moves on to the next question. "Tell me a little about your dog Pea, please?"
Pea, hearing his name, pokes his small head out of Coco's pocket and gives a yip. Coco lifts the tiny poodle out of her pocket and places him on her lap, speaking softly to him. That reminds AJ to ask Coco about her ability to talk with animals. First though he lets the 5th year Ravenclaw fill him in about Pea.
When the interview draws to an end, Coco and Pea leave to get supper before it's too late to do so. AJ thoughtfully taps his quill on top of his desk. This should make for an interesting series. Coco is an animagus who speaks to animals and has an endearing way of speaking along with eschewing shoes except for when they are absolutely required wear. He already knows Griet for his Slytherin book is a werewolf. Bailey and Alanna both did consistently well in the SAT events they were in. For that matter so did Griet and Coco.
Yes, a most interesting series. Now, if he can only come up with names for the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw books!
Wishing that term didn't have to end.
Author: Thessily
Date: 05-15-07 11:52
There was a warm gentle breeze blowing some wind chimes and coming into the opened window in the dorm room. A soft meow could be heard from my cat who was playing with a toy in the corner. And from a painting you could hear a haunting melody being sung. It sounded strange and fit my mood.
I had been pretty down since I came from spring break. It was hard to get back into the swing of life after going through what I went through. I was trying very hard to be normal. But it just was so hard. Sometimes if the weather was changing, my hands would hurt and I still jumped at the sight of anything to sharp.
I couldn’t even concentrate on my tests or homework. It was very important that I passed all my tests this year. Because next year was my seventh year at Hogwarts and would help determined what I would be. What did I want to be? I wondered. When I first entered Hogwarts I had wanted to be a healer. Like my mother had been. But now, now things were different. I wasn’t very good at healing either. I was thinking about being an Aurora. They were so cool and they fought evil. I wanted to fight evil and bring people like Shane to justice. Plus, it would drive my aunt insane if I was to become an Aurora. She had been kinder to me since my ordeal during the spring. But, I still didn’t want to go home this year for summer break.
Krystal’s family had offered to let me stay with them during the summer, and I was considering taking up their offer. The only problem was getting my aunt to let me stay with the Blackwells. My aunt never did like Krystal or her parents. But she didn’t have too. Krystal was my best friend whether or not Aunt Eleanor approved of her.
Then again, if Aunt Eleanor didn’t let me go visit Krystal’s family for summer break or winter break, what made me think she would for summer break? I frowned. Why did my aunt have to keep me at in the castle we lived in anyway? I thought with one final pout.
Studying For OWLs
Author: Jared
Date: 05-15-07 13:21
Early in the school year, Thursday mornings Jared would sleep in then go to the common commons for something to eat to tide him over until lunch. If he had work left to do before his afternoon classes, he'd finish up whatever it was. Usually though Jared would goof off, playing wizard chess or some other game, playing a little Quidditch, talking with friends, or just being lazy in general. Then it would be off to lunch followed by History of Magic, Transiguration, and Potions.
None of the goofing off and laziness today though. OWLs start Monday. There are the reviews in two of his classes today - Jared is fairly certain that Professor Binns will just keep droning endlessly on with a history lession - and there are two more to get through tomorrow, Muggle Studies and Herbology. There's the weekend to get in some last minute cramming for the Charms OWL on Monday and the one for Transfiguration on Tuesday. Herbology on Wednesday. DADA on Thursday. Thank God, Merlin, and everyone else he's got the Friday free!
Jared shudders at the thought of next week. What seemed like so far it was difficult to even think about when school began is here. Jared takes out a bottle with lemonade in it, careful not to spill any. Miss Bambi's much more lenient then Madam Pince ever thought about being when it comes to food and drink in the library. The students may have drinks and snacks, particularly in the study carrels such as the one Jared's currently using, but they have to be extremely careful.
Picking up his pen to start working once more on a practice exam for the written portion of the Charms OWL, Jared thinks he'd much rather be sitting and doing nothing. Maybe daydreaming about the day he'd given Alanna her birthday present and gotten an impulsive kiss on the cheek in return. Sighing, Jared touches the spot on his cheek that Alanna had kissed. Yes, much rather be thinking about that then the OWLs.
Wondering Where Here Is
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 05-15-07 19:44
There is a spot on Viktor's left leg that doesn't hurt all that much. It's a very small spot but he concentrates on it, trying to shut out the pervasive pain of the entire rest of his body. Viktor has what passes under his present circumstance as dark humor. Even his eyebrows hurt.
Viktor doesn't know exactly how much time has passed since Lyric - if that's her real name - attacked him with the first of many Cruciatus curse. He does know that at it's sometime the next day but that's only because of something Lyric had said. "Here's a bit of bread. You must be famished with nothing to eat since breakfast yesterday. Can't have you dying on me from starvation."
The not knowing how much time has gone by doesn't bother Viktor all that much. It's the not knowing where he is that bothers Viktor. It's also the fact that the way Lyric has things set up, Viktor can't think of a way to get the drop on her to get out of this situation. She uses peep holes to either throw another Unforgiveable curse at him or to stun him before she enters the room.
Viktor doesn't even know if Lyric is acting alone or if in the very next room there are 50 people ready to do her bidding. He can't hear a damned thing. The walls are probably charmed for silence. Good thing he figured that out before screaming himself hoarse for someone to hear him and come help. Viktor is hoarse from screaming, just not from uselessly calling for help.
Reaching for what's left of the bread Lyric had brought him, Viktor forces himself to eat it, washing it down with what remains of the water she'd already given him. It's not much sustenance but some is better than none so Viktor isn't going to worry himself with whether the bread or water is drugged. He'd has half of each so far with no adverse reaction that he can tell. Better to use any energy expended worrying about drugged food and water on trying to figure a way out of here or at least a way to get a leg up.
Missed Meeting
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 05-15-07 20:13
"No, sorry, I've not seen him since, oh, I think it was Tuesday just after practice."
Yuri Gregorovitch shrugs after Flora Lynch answers the question, "Have you seen Viktor recently?"
It was Py who started the questions. He'd gotten to the stadium this morning thinking to meet Viktor to talk about Py continuing to be the main Keeper for the Humbatas or whether he wants to switch over to being one of the Chasers. Py's done some chasing in a few games but Viktor needs to know whether to bump up Tilda Titchmarsh's status and perhaps get another back-up keeper or not.
Py had arrived on time but after drinking two large cups of tea Viktor still hadn't shown up. Py wandered around the stadium in case he'd gotten mixed up on where there they were meeting or in case Viktor had gotten caught by someone and hadn't yet been able to extract himself from the conversation. When he couldn't locate Viktor, Py walked to the offices above Windweaver's Completely Quidditch.
Yuri was at the offices but not Viktor. Yuri hadn't seen Viktor this morning nor could he remember seeing him at all yesterday. While Yuri stuck his head in the Floo to speak with Connor and then to do the same with the various assistant coachers and trainers, Py hustled up to Hogwarts to see if Viktor had gotten delayed there.
No Viktor at Hogwarts. Not a sign of him. Py had let Professor Dumbledore know then had met up with Yuri to start questioning the rest of the players. Flora is the last of them. Shrugging as well, Py says, "I think it's time to report Viktor as missing."
Hope
Author: Forest
Date: 05-16-07 16:19
Thrumming his fingers on his desk, Forest finishes reading a statement given by a witness in a case Kingsley's been working on. Forest frowns when he reads one sentence, his eyes darting back up to a previous paragraph then back down again. Kingsley makes a clicking sound with this tongue then says, "Jumped out at you too."
"Don't you just love it when they give themselves away but don't have a clue they've done it?" Forest asks, handing the partially read statement back to Kingsley. "Donavan's here?"
The large Auror nods, already in the process of standing. "He is. I'll get him and we'll get right on this." Kingsley taps the parchment in his hand for emphasis. At the doorway he pauses, "Any word from Hugo or Latetia?"
"Not yet but they're due to report soon."
"Stefka or Ethan know yet?"
"Not that I'm aware. Neither's been in asking to be assigned to the case."
"You think Krum's going missing is anything to do with the Koyla case?"
"I'm not sure what to think yet. We've absolutely nothing on which to base anything so I'm trying not to make assumptions. It's been months since the Bulgarian government let us know what they'd learned about Koyla having a sister in his organization. The only thing we know definately is that there was no emergency back home to have Krum rushing off without remembering to tell anyone he was going."
"I suppose it's too much to hope that The Daily Prophet and other papers won't have stories full of wild speculations about what's happened to Viktor Krum," Kingsley says, mouth curled up in a sneer at the thought of such stories, which will of course run rampant.
"I won't waste my time hoping for that. I am holding on to hope that Krum is, if not well, at least alive," Forest replies.
Kingsley nods in agreement to that statement then leaves to get Donavan to follow up on the contradition in that witness's statement.
Readjusting
Author: Bellatrix Lestrange
Date: 05-16-07 19:29
The air is somewhat strained at the BOO these days. After the initial exultation of actually pulling off a break-in and consequently a break out of Azkaban, things had become...wary.
Lucius, Rabastan, Rodolphus and Bellatrix had fought their way back past a few Aurors and any number of escaped prisoners, until they reached the outside of the prison and relative safety. It had been easy to relocate the row boat they had hidden on the way over, and it was a matter of rowing back across the strait until they reached land again. It would have been foolhardy to risk their location by disapparating.
Bellatrix was nursing a slashed shoulder which had been hastily bandaged in the boat, and a thin and painful cut across one cheek. Rabastan had a fractured rib or two – he had managed to get into a fist fight with a couple of prisoners he had recognized and wanted payment in blood from, and Rodolphus was happily prattling about the recent death of Severus Snape at the hands of his devoted wife.
Bellatrix had rolled her eyes and remained strangely silent. The only other silent figure in the boat was Lucius. He met Bella's eyes, holding her gaze for a few seconds and then smiled, slowly. Bella wasn't worried; far from it. No doubt Lucius was getting back into the swing of things and getting back into character for his return to the Ministry and 'normal' life. She wondered how he did it – she couldn't have just hid her glee and excitement from the world. Far from it; once an important goal had been achieved she needed the praise and the knowledge she had one up on her enemy. The muggles called it Counting Coup.
Once back home however, after a couple of days the high from such a venture had slowly worn off. Now she was sitting at the window, admiring the wild beauty of the landscape. Rodolphus had just returned from the study, she felt his shadow cross behind hers and then a hand on her shoulder.
The Daily Prophet was plunked unceremoniously on the table beside her. She caught a brief glance at Rodolphus' left arm, where the Dark Mark should have been. Instead of the familiar brand was a morass of scar tissue, a reminder of his desperation to be rid of the mark and no longer Voldemort's pawn.
"Why are they keeping it out of the paper?" he spat. "All I want is some finality to the matter, just a small note somewhere, even if it's on page three. I just want to see that slimy git's name there, saying he's dead. Then I'll finally be happy."
The slimy git in question was of course Severus Snape. And of course he was far from dead. Bella remembered that boat ride back, and Lucius' silent look when he met her gaze. Had he known? Was that knowing smirk aimed at her because he knew? She bit her lip.
"Well perhaps they wanted it kept out of the paper for some reason? Perhaps Dumbledore's leaned on the Ministry or something, hoping to avoid panic. They wouldn't want a resurgence of Voldemort based fear all over again would they?" she replied.
Rodolphus met Bella's eyes and held her gaze. She noticed in a clinically detached way that he seemed harder, less inclined to just believe something than before. Perhaps this second incarceration at Azkaban had changed him. She suddenly hoped that finally he just might be a match for her in one of her rages. The idea was appealing, since it frankly had been a relief when he managed to get himself captured and thrown in Azkaban.
When his gaze became uncomfortable, he looked away and sighed. "Well at least the bastard's dead. Now we can finally move on I suppose."
"Yes," she said, standing up and holding her arms crossed. "Now we can move on."
She had given Snape his one free Get Out of Death card, and now he was on borrowed time again. She was looking forward to the fight when it came, no matter how long she had to wait.
New Life... Again
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 05-16-07 20:28
The initial meeting with the Towneleys had gone better than Ethan had ever anticipated. Tavish and Marigold had invited Ethan into their home after his pronouncement that he might be their son and had heard out his every word without interruption. He'd left out all the magical bits, fearing they would take him for a raving loon if he introduced that part of the story too soon. When he'd finished, they'd still had their doubts but had agreed to take a paternity test. Ethan couldn't have asked for anything more.
They'd made an appointment with the Towneley family doctor for the following morning and had all gone done together for the momentous event. Then they'd waited. And waited. And waited. And when the wait had finally ended, Ethan had had his resolution at last. The Towneleys, Tavish and Marigold, were his biological parents. Shocked, yet overjoyed, the Ethan's parents had welcomed him with open arms. The son they'd thought had been dead for so long had, in fact, never died at all.
Ethan had eaten dinner at their home every night since learning the truth about his parternity. He'd also gotten to meet his three siblings, Alton, Callum and Ariadne. Alton was nine years Ethan's senior, married and had four children of his own. He worked as a stock broker for the London Stock Exchange. Of Ethan's siblings, Alton was the only one to have met Ethan before, when "Finn" had barely been born. Callum was a year and a half younger than Ethan and a womanizer who would probably never settle down unless someone managed to handcuff him to a bed (which he'd probably enjoy to some extent). He worked in advertising. Ariadne was five years Ethan's junior and an amateur actor who'd just recently joined the chorus of Les Miserables in the West End. She had a steady boyfriend whom she hoped to marry one day.
All three of Ethan's siblings had been glad to meet him, though understandably shocked to learn that Finn Towneley hadn't ever died. They'd all wanted to know everything about Ethan's life, from the moment he'd been stolen from his hospital crib. Ethan had told them everything without mentioning anything about being a wizard. He didn't plan on delaying with that bit of information for too long––just long enough to get them used to him being in their life.
Ethan was at his happiest, now that he'd finally found his real family. He felt that he could close the door on his past and look to the future, and what a bright future it looked to be!
He'd been out at Azkaban all day, doing follow-up on the recent breakout and the damage done during that moment of chaos. Being within the walls of the fortress normally brought him a little down, but not today. He'd considered gloating to the Somersets and to Hattie about his recent success but realized he would be stooping down to their level and he was much better than that. He did have a good talk with Rosamond and shared his good news with her.
It wasn't until Ethan got back to the office that his mood dampened.
"Did you hear about Viktor Krum?" someone had said to him, moments after dropping his paperwork onto his desk.
"No, what happened?" Ethan asked, growing alarmed. Viktor was Ethan's best friend, though they hadn't seen or talked to each other in quite a while. Ethan listened to the news gravely and then went to speak to Forest about offering to help. If Viktor's disappearance did have something to do with Koyla, then Ethan definitely wanted to get involved because no one else except for Stefka Zhivko-Turner had experience dealing with the dead wizard and his cult.
Get Rid Of It
Author: Julian Valentine
Date: 05-17-07 18:31
"What's that?" Lysander asks, peering over Julian's shoulder.
Julian, who as yet hasn't mentioned his "new" book to Lysander, looks over his shoulder at his friend. Turning his head back to face the front, his eyes dart around to see who in the shop might be near enough to hear. Both customers are visible but not anywhere close to the check out counter. Nonetheless, Julian lowers his voice.
"Remember Geheimzinnige Goud?" Julian taps the thick, ancient tome. This is Geheimzinnige Zilver. It was somehow included in that action block I bought that was mainly children's books and toys. I think whomever wrote Goud, wrote this one too."
Lysander steps closer to the counter and leans on it, his voice going as low as Julian's, his eyebrows raised. "After the trouble the other caused you have burned it the second you saw the title."
"I was tempted. Believe me, I came extremely close to building a fire just to toss it into the flames."
"Why didn't you?"
"I don't know. For some reason I stuck it in a closet, on the top shelf as far back as I could shove it."
"What changed that made you not only bring it out of the closet but to now be sitting here in the open as you peruse it?"
"I went to get a pair of Grace's sandals out of that closet to see if they still fit her. When I opened the closet door, the book was on the floor right next to that very pair of sandals. I brought the book down here to the shop, thinking maybe I'd burn it in the office while doing some paperwork. I got busy doing a special order for Madam Petrochi so I forgot about that paperwork for awhile. When you left for awhile earlier, I found myself bringing the book out here with me to watch the shop."
Lysander exhales slowly. "This isn't sounding very good. You should get rid of it."
"I know. It's just now that I've opened it and have been looking through it, I'm not sure I want to."
"All the more reason to burn it and be done with it."
Julian nods. "You're right. I'll go put it back in the closet for now and after we close I'll get rid of it for good."
Lysander nudges Julian who looks up to see Mrs. Paxton approaching. Lifting the heavy book, Julian slides off the stool and leaves Lysander to ring up Mrs. Paxton's purchase. Upstairs, Julian shoves the book into the closet, determined to get rid of the darmn thing this evening.