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Visiting Allah Al-Khidad
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 08-05-07 09:28
Arriving in West Irian Jaya, Lysander consulted the map Allah Al-Khidad had sent him upon receiving Lysander's acceptance of his invitation to come visit. West Irian Jaya was a province of Indonesia on the western end of the island of New Guinea. Specifically, Allah Al-Khidad lived in the coastal town of Sorong, to which Lysander made his final apparition. He found himself standing before a line of old warehouses that for the most part seemed long out of use. Behind him in the distance was the beach.
Allah Al-Khidad's home was invisible to the Muggle eye, but Lysander could see it clearly. Al-Khidad had renovated one of the abandoned warehouses. The fading brown and gray of the walls had been painted sky blue. The broken windows had been repaired. The tin roof had been polished so that it gleamed in the sunlight. Lysander walked up to the front door and stepped on a mat that had a word written on it in what looked like Arabic.
He found himself face to face with a door knocker in the shape of a scorpion. Lysander raised his hand to it, knocked twice, and waited.
A moment later the door opened, revealing a man wearing dark sunglasses that shielded his eyes, a turban wrapped tightly around his head that covered his hair, and a heavy beard that hid his mouth and obscured part of his face.
"Mr. Stratford?" he asked in heavily accented English.
"Yes, Mr. Al-Khidad?"
"Yes, come in. I've been expecting you."
Lysander stepped inside the home, finding it mainly consisting of an open space, though there were some ornate dividers here and there that gave off the appearance of more rooms. Al-Khidad led Lysander well into the back of the building, where there was an actual room, complete with solid walls and a door with a heavy-duty lock.
"I'm very protective of my library," Al-Khidad explained.
"I understand," Lysander replied, eager to see what was behind that door.
Al-Khidad produced a key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock. He pulled the heavy door open and gestured for Lysander to walk inside. Lysander did, finding himself in a rather bare room that had a table on it with four identical books stacked on it.
The door swung shut behind Lysander, and he heard the lock click back into place.
"What the hell?" he yelled. He reached for his wand but realized that it had been lifted from his pocket, probably when he entered the room.
He could barely make out Al-Khidad's muffled words. "You wanted to find the Book of Kem Heka. Now you've found them. Enjoy them while you can."
Lysander didn't hear Al-Khidad walk away, but he quickly realized he'd walked straight into a trap. Al-Khidad was the person behind the theft of the books, and he didn't want anyone looking for them.
Lysander quickly looked around the room. It was, as he first noticed, quite bare. There wasn't even a window. He did believe he was at the other end of the building though, and that the wall opposite the door was an outside wall. Still, how would he be able to get out without his wand to help him?
Perhaps if he was gone long enough, Julian or even Hermione Granger would know to find him. He'd told both where he was going, and they both knew what he was after.
With little other option right now, Lysander turned to the four books stacked on the table and picked up the first one, turning to the chapter Hermione wanted. He started reading where the pages he'd found left off and then checked the other three copies to make sure they were all the same.
Interview (Euphemia Smythe-Jones)
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 08-05-07 10:32
Euphemia smiles at the memory of Saturday night. The looks of shock on the faces of staff and student alike are still fresh in her mind. What fun that was! Euphemia had stayed standing in the back of the Great Hall for a long while before taking her leave. She wonders if the new staff has figured out that there is no Eloise Sylvia Jaccard. Has anyone determined the real identity of the woman who was in the Great Hall that night? If so, nothing's been said to Euphemia nor has anything been in letters she's received since that night.
Her door opens as the secretary lets in a reporter Euphemia agreed to speak with this morning. Leonidis Wiblin extends a hand to Euphemia, shakes his head no at the offer of refreshments, then sits down in the chair she's indicated. Reseated in her own chair behind her desk, Euphemia steeples her fingers and smiles benignly as Wiblin says, "Thank you for granting this personal interview, Minister Smythe-Jones."
"The other way was getting tedious."
By that, Euphemia means the press conferences where reporters keep shouting questions at her. She really dislikes all the confusing noise and finally told them all, "I shall speak individually with one of you." That had been two days ago. It had taken Euphemia that long to decide just which reporter she wished to do the one-on-one interview with.
"Shall we get right to it then," Wiblin asks.
"Yes, first question?"
"One question as yet not answered since the news broke Sunday of the changes at Hogwarts, is why has the Hogwarts board not intervened?"
"There has been no intervention or protest because I have the full backing of the board," Euphemia's smile broadens.
Everyone has been paying attention to things like the replacement of Wizengamot members. Few, if any, have noticed that other bodies have seen replacements as well. This fact she keeps to herself. If Wilbin asks, she'll address it. If he doesn't, why bother bringing it up herself when there are so many other things to discuss?
"When you were being considered for the Minister of Magic position, did you ever indicate your plans for Hogwarts?"
"No, can't say it ever crossed my mind to bring it up."
"Is that because you were worried you'd not be selected as Minister if your plans were known?"
Euphemia chuckles. "No, that's not it at all. I was simply too focused on other things."
"There is a great deal of protest about the changes at Hogwarts. So far all that's been said in press conferences is that these changes should have been made a long time ago. Why is that, Minister? What do you have to say to those opposed to the new rules at the school?"
"Many have attempted to make such changes in the past. Unfortunately, some of them gave a bad name to the others. We of pureblood cannot be repressed any longer. Actions must be taken before we are far too outnumbered. Of course there is opposition to the changes. People often dislike change but in time come to see the changes were for the best; also, many of those in opposition are the very ones the rules are protecting we purebloods from."
"So you're saying that anyone not of pureblood is a threat to those who are?"
"Yes," Euphemia answers simply.
Wiblin, purses his lips in a frown, then glances at his list of questions to decide what to ask next.
Enid's Secrets Revealed
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 08-05-07 10:33
Sitting at what was deemed the pure half of the Gryffindor table, Ronan ate scrambled eggs and bacon on toast and washed it all down with a cool glass of pumpkin juice. He had four classes today, Charms with Professor Flume, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Yaxley, Potions with Professor Spudmore and Transfiguration with Professor Whitehorn. With the exception of Yaxley, the other professors seemed pretty nice.
Finishing up breakfast, Ronan left the Great Hall and went to the Charms classroom on the second floor. It was early yet, but the door was open and Professor Flume had her back to the classroom while she wrote some notes up on the blackboard.
Ronan eased into his seat and pulled a journal-like book from between his Charms and DADA textbooks. It was the item he'd found in his mother's bedroom, which he'd "borrowed" the day before school started. He'd already read it through from top to bottom once.
It was a collection of letters and newspaper clippings and even handwritten entries by Enid herself. The journal began with a prophecy:
Darkness devours the one born of the fair witch and the rising auror. A taste for blood, a quest for vengeance, and a thirst for power will take hold and never release him.
This was followed by notations, like the names Enid Highsmith and Drustan Bisbee.
There followed love letters between Enid and Drustan, along with notations about Enid's subsequent pregnancy and the birth of her child, Caden.
This was, perhaps, the first revelation that hit Ronan hard. Enid had given birth to Caden, and Caden's father hadn't been Bertram Eastwick like he'd grown up believing. Why would Enid have lied over this fact?
Ronan had soon found out the reason. Yellowed clippings from the Daily Prophet discussed the deaths of Drustan Bisbee, auror allegedly murdered in the line of duty and Calliope Horn, a young witch who'd been murdered in her own room. The killer or killers had never been found.
Enid's handwritten notations described exactly how she'd done in both and even described the murder and disposal of Calliope's newborn son, who had also been named Caden Eastwick. She'd put her Caden in the other Caden's place, to be raised by an unknowing Bertram, whom she later seduced and married.
There was a great gap in years from the time of Caden's rearing as the son of Bertram and stepson of Enid and the rest of the material in the book. A newspaper clipping from over five years ago mentioned the death of Bertram outside a pub in Knockturn Alley. On a page following the article, Enid had drawn a pentagram and written down a few names like Marcus Ivrea, whom, if Ronan wasn't mistaken, was the man Caden had killed in Knockturn Alley when he and Urania had been mugged.
On the next page Enid wrote: It is time that I leave and let Caden come into his own. When he becomes who he is meant to be, I will return.
And for a long time, there wasn't a new entry in the journal–-not until the Daily Prophet article about Caden's mugging. Again, the prophecy had been written out, and dissected. Caden had obtained a taste for blood by killing a man. According to Enid (which was news to Ronan), Caden had hunted down the others responsible for the mugging in a quest for vengeance. And, if there was any truth in Enid's words, Caden had assumed control over the very same group responsible for Bertram's death and thereby gained a thirst for power.
This was madness, Ronan thought, but then he remembered how Caden had changed towards the end of his life. Perhaps it was all true.
Some of the very last entries in the journal included clippings about the mass grave found in the Muggle world, from which Caden's body had been removed. The very last page was the most interesting to Ronan, as they were written in Enid's hand and revealed her thoughts on everything that had happened since she started keeping the book.
It grieves me that all I have hoped for has come to nothing. Could I have interpreted the prophecy wrong? Did I not realize that Caden's greatness might only be temporary––very temporary. I feel like I have wasted my energy on a cause that had been lost from the very beginning––and I have lost my son, my first born, and he shall never return to me.
Ronan shut the book, realizing the room had filled up with his pureblood classmates. He knew what he had to do, but he wasn't sure he was ready to part with the journal yet. He slid it under his seat onto his DADA textbook and opened The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6 to the page number written up on the board.
Charms and Changes
Author: Alanna Beck
Date: 08-05-07 11:06
Alanna sat down near Ronan Eastwick and opened her textbook to the page number written on the chalkboard. She got out some clean parchment, made sure her quill was filled with ink, and set her wand down on her desk.
She'd had major reservations about taking classes with unfamiliar, Ministry of Magic-hired professors, but most of them were actually pretty great. Alanna and others quickly realized that they were only there to work and teach. They didn't necessarily share Headmistress Snider's views on segregation.
Alanna thought it a real shame that good students like Fritz and Coco, who would have been in the same class but were currently sitting in Professor Flitwick's Charms class, had lost their prefect badges. It shouldn't matter whether a prefect was Muggle-born or not, but obviously Hairy the Snide didn't agree.
She wondered if Snider's viewpoints would change Quidditch. Would only purebloods be allowed to play? Alanna hoped not, as not all purebloods were good at Quidditch, and there were some mixed bloods who were really awesome players.
Alanna was eager to get into the game again, especially since she used the Kendra Beck scholarship money she'd won that year to buy a brand new Firebolt II. She'd previously flown an old Nimbus 2001, which she would gladly donate to any "non" stuck flying a crappier model, like Snider would want.
Alanna also wanted to show off some of the tricks she'd learned during her day with the Humbatas, which she'd won during a drawing at the Hogwarts Career Day and she'd attended over the summer before taking her trip to Australia.
"Good morning, class," Professor Flume began, smiling at the faces of the sixth year students in her classroom. "Today we will begin discussing Aguamenti."
She raised her wand and said, "Aguamenti." A jet of clear water shot across the room and landed in a basin positioned to collect the water.
"Ooh," said the class. Alanna couldn't wait to test out that spell!
Snider Leaves Her Mark In The Library
Author: Bambi Fandango
Date: 08-05-07 16:08
Bambi's in the process of checking out several books to a student when Harriet Snider walks into the library. The atmosphere of the large space changes instantly. Her portly form comes so close to the counter that Bambi fleetingly wonders if Professor Sniders intends to rest her heaving bosom upon it. The woman is never much to look at but up this close, she's on the verge of being repulsive. As the headmistress starts to speak, Bambi has another fleeting thought about how everyone's right. The mustache does look like a sickly caterpiller.
"A word, Ms. Fandango. Or is it Mrs. Hodfuffer? Fandango-Hodfuffer perhaps? I keep forgetting to ask your preference."
"Here, I tend to go by Fandango. Away from work, it's Mrs. Hodfuffer. Staff often call me Bambi and the students usually refer to me as Miss Bambi."
"Ms. Fandango it is then," the sickly caterpiller quivers. "This is Jelly." A mannish hand reached behind to grab a smallish House Elf. "Jelly will be working here in the library."
Bambi waits without saying anything. She has a feeling she knows what's coming next. She just doesn't know specifically what new rules Snider is going to institute. Bambi only knows that poor Jelly will be expected to report to Snider on whether the new rules are being followed.
"You and I will take a walk, Ms. Fandango. Come along."
Bambi moves around the counter to follow. Snider starts with the study carrels in the library itself then goes across the hall to the large, expanded study area. She moves along tapping the doors as she goes, leaving marks. "A purple mark indicates Purebloods only. The sort of putrid green is for Nons only. A study carrel with both means it might be used by each group but if there is waiting list, Pures automatically go ahead of Nons, no matter where the Pures' names fall in the list."
Next Snider tackles the tables in the library. The best tables are designated purple. Others are marked with that awful, bile green. Some are left alone.
Back at the counter, Snider continues laying down the new library rules. "If two students are seeking the same book and one is Pure, the other a Non, the Pure gets it. Double the amount of time a Pure may have a book checked out. Cut in half the amount of time you currently use for Nons. All Nons are to be out of the library by 7:45. Pures may stay until 10. You will provide any late staying Pures with passes to they do not lose points or earn detention for being out past curfew."
Snider looks around, a smile on her lips that to Bambi seems rather gruesome. "I believe that's all for now. Jelly, do a good job. I'm counting on you."
Bambi is, by this time, so angry she dares not speak. Waiting until Snider has been gone for several minutes Bambi finally turns to the little House Elf, reminding herself not to take her anger out on him. She offers him the best smile she can dredge up for the moment. "Come along, Jelly. Let me introduce you to Harkin and Dorothy. I'll need to fill them in on the changes and after that one of them can start showing you some of the procedures we use for checking books out and in, and start teaching you the classification system we use."
Come To Lunch?
Author: Forest
Date: 08-05-07 17:30
Crumpling up a memo, Forest is in the act of tossing it to the wastebasket when Aspen knocks on the open door. "Am I interrupting?"
"No, no, come in. Always have time for my favorite sister."
Forest has jumped up to meet Aspen halfway. He offers her his arm but she waves it away, doing the waddle of a heavily pregnant woman over to one of the chairs. "I'm pregnant, not lame and in need of a hand."
"I know. I'm just trying to be gentlemanly."
Aspen laughs, "That's a first."
Forest drops into the other chair as Aspen says, "All joking aside, you've always been a gentleman except when teasing me mercilessly."
Forest cracks a smile. "I'm sure there were other times when I wasn't much of a gentleman to you, but no need to thank me. It's in the big brother job description. Say, what are you doing here today? I thought you went on leave already."
"I have but I came to pick up some things from my cubicle and I'm meeting Christopher for lunch. We thought you might like to join us. We could go to Hogsmeade, intice Furnie to take a break and join us as well."
Glancing at the crumpled memo visible at the top of the wastebasket, Forest grimaces. Between Berwyck Oldridge and Euphemia Smythe-Jones, Forest has stayed disgruntled all week. A break away for lunch with good company might be just the thing.
Rising quickly, Forest says, "Let me tell Prunella where I'll be and then we can go locate your husband."
Professor Snider the Rabbit ~ A painting by Cailyn
Author: Cailyn Spicer
Date: 08-05-07 18:02
Cailyn sat alone in the little area that Alex had showed her, after her defense against the darks arts class. She knew she should be doing her homework. But instead, she sat with her sketch book and paints. Ever since she was a child, Cailyn had loved to draw. She would fill notebook after notebook up with pictures and watercolors. Her father had often said she should have gone to a Muggle art school rather then Waltings or Hogwarts.
Sometimes, she wished she had gone to a Muggle art school. Wizarding School got tiresome, and the Muggle world seemed a lot easier then the Wizarding world. There were so many fascinating things about Muggles. Cailyn supposed that she found Muggles fascinating because their world was so different from her own. She also guessed that the Muggles found her world just as fascinating as she found theirs.
Unfortunately for her, she had come from a long line of Wizarding families on both her parents’ side. So going to a Muggle art school was completely out of the question. Her grandfather had even threatened to take away her huge inheritance if she went to a Muggle school rather then a Wizarding school. Rather then see her inheritance go to her awful cousin Spencer, Cailyn decided it was best to go to the Wizarding schools. She could always continue to draw though.
Today, she was drawing a picture of a rabbit in the form of Professor Snider only; the rabbit wasn’t cute and furry at all. The rabbit was horrid looking and evil. Soon, the rabbit had on a dark evil grin and a red cape with a black dress. The rabbit even grew dark hair. Cailyn always associated evil people with dark clothes, dark hair and a red cape. She giggled as she finished the painting and turned the picture this way and that way trying to decide if she wanted to add anything else to it.