|
|
The Same Topic Gets Old Fast
Author: Zabrynna
Date: 07-22-08 13:49
Even though they've been at school for several days now, Zabrynna's roommate Anne Kendrick can't seem to stop saying, "So this is what Hufflepuff House looks like."
This morning it was enough to make Zabrynna leave early for breakfast. It's not that she dislikes Anne but enough is enough. Zabrynna had heard from her parents all about the four Hogwarts houses and how each was password protected so by this morning, hearing it all from Anne yet again was more than Zabrynna could stand. It was leave early and get a respite from hearing once more all the differences still visible between the Gryffindor common room and the Hufflepuff one or get extremely snappish with Anne.
Sitting through her first Muggle Studies course with Professor Pansy Parkinson didn't much help Zabrynna's mood. Zabrynna had signed up for the course, something Durmstrang has never offered and probably only will when hell freezes over, because she thought it might be interesting to know a little about Muggles. She's been raised all her life to think of them as the enemy and isn't there some old saying about knowing your enemy?
Within five minutes of class starting, Zabrynna knew she'd made a mistake in taking Muggle Studies. All Parkinson did was drone on about how utterly inferior, stupid, and useless Muggles are. If that's all there is to this course then it will make Anne's constant comparison of the former Gryffindor House space with the former Hufflepuff House space seem like downright, jolly and fun to hear. If Parkinson's lecture today is the same lecture she'll give, because just how many different ways are there to say, "Stupid, useless Muggle," then Zabrynna's going to have to come up with some creative reasons to cut class. A lot of reason.
History of Magic was history, which can be boring, but a breath of fresh air compared to Parkinson's class. Professor Douglass so far has made history not as boring as it might be, but this was just the second class meeting. Zabrynna thinks that with the potential for boring to set in, it's a good thing Professor Douglass is nice on the eyes.
When class ends, Anne sidles up beside Zabrynna. "I'm starving. I only ate a piece of toast this morning."
Nodding that she too is hungry, Zabrynna thinks of something to stave off Anne's return to what so far has seemed to be her favorite topic. "I still hardly know anyone, Anne. How about over lunch you point people out to me and tell me what you know?"
Anne grins, "You mean tell you the gossip. That I can do! I know who just about everyone is even if they don't know me."
Glad to have something else for Anne to ramble about, Zabrynna finds she really is very hungry and can't wait to sit down and eat while letting Anne natter about other students.
After Fitness & Athletics
Author: Ella
Date: 07-22-08 17:09
Ella sat on the turf at the Quidditch Pitch after her first Fitness & Athletics class and extended her legs in front of her while she leaned back on her arms. It wasn't a particularly nice day, it being overcast and threatening rain at any moment, but the temperature felt nice. The rest of her small class had already begun to disperse. She followed them with her eyes and then shifted her gaze to Professor Batuti, who walked in the direction of one of the lockerrooms.
"Finally!"
Ella fell backwards onto the turf and closed her eyes as the first large raindrops pelted her face. They were few and far between, but they felt refreshing after the good workout she'd just had at the Pitch. She lay on the ground until the rain petered out (which didn't last long at all) and then picked herself up and went to the lockerroom to retrieve her robes.
Once she had them, she went to the castle. Ella guessed most of the other students were already in the Great Hall, eating lunch. She wasn't worried about missing the meal, since she could always go for a delicious and sometimes hearty snack in the commons.
Ella stepped inside the castle and noted from the level of noise coming from the Great Hall that her guess was probably right. It wasn't nearly as noisy in there as in past years, when the Hogwarts student body was more than twice as large. Still, it was loud enough for Ella to note that more students were at lunch than not.
She headed for the marble staircase and took two steps at a time. From there, Ella navigated landings and moving staircases until she reached what used to be the Gryffindor common room area. A portrait of the Fat Lady was there, but she didn't request anything of Ella. She merely swung her portrait open, revealing the portal to the common room. Ella went inside and headed straight for the dormitory room she shared with Cornelia Vanderbilt.
Ella and Cornelia did not get along at all, and so Ella was thankful to find Cornelia absent from the room (she was probably in the Great Hall). Ella went to her trunk, pulled out some clean clothes and grabbed her bathrobe and shower caddy before heading to the bathroom to take a quick bath. Afterwards, she tossed her F&A uniform into her dirty hamper and, conscious of her suddenly growing stomach, headed to the Great Hall to grab some lunch for herself.
(Pacific Ocean) Flight Time
Author: Desdemona Diamond
Date: 07-22-08 21:51
I sat reclined in the chair on the plane, headphones on. No, I wasn’t watching the movie; it was some stupid move that I hoped would never cross my path again. So, instead it was Rammstein time.
I lay back in the chair half sleeping, must have been close to an hour since I turned on my iPod when I heard a beep. The beep from hell when having been on the plane for the last 10 hours! My iPod was dying! It can’t die! I shook it a little, but to no avail. It was still dying.
After a few hits, and a few good shakes, it cut out. It was dead. The only thing keeping me sane on this aluminum can had just given up the ghost. I tossed it into my bag angrily and sat there for a moment pouting.
”Stupid thing,” I mumbled, “Now what…” I sat considering what I’ve done the last 10 hours. Ate, slept, read a book, listened to music… Everything but watch the stupid movies. Now, all I had was the stupid movies. I still had another… like… 10 hours.
Someone was going to die.
The Original Title Was Way Too Long
Author: Don Thomas
Date: 07-23-08 02:19
What looked like a body hid under Don's covers on Don's bed made Freya purse her lips together in disgust. This girl, not even a Brit, had come into her space uninvited (the space that should have been just hers in her opinion), did not treat Freya with the respect she deserved (for being a Slytherin, a prefect, the obvious choice for Head Girl if they decide to bring that back, and heiress to a very wealthy Pure family), had the easiest schedule in the world and had not once touched her homework yet, had not yet cleaned up her half of the room, spent too much time with that Ravenclaw, was too smart-assed, and just too bloody un-Slytherin. Definitely not someone Freya wanted to be roommates with at all.
It seemed like Don's act today of sleeping in until noon was just ludicrous. No respectful human should waste there day like that. Well, Freya would make sure she didn't any longer. Freya Abbott dropped her things on her own bed before stomping to Don's. She lifted the covers quickly. "Get out of bed, you slacker!"
As Freya yelled this, she didn't notice Don and Curtis coming through the open door into her room. Don bit against her lips to hold in laughter as Freya noticed the bed was empty and looked around to see if anyone had seen her mistake. That was when she noticed Don and Curtis.
"Did you see--"
"Yep," Don said as Curtis excused himself to go back to his room. "I'd have to agree though. That mattress really needs to do better in it's schooling. I never see it doing homework or studying. Such shame."
Don noticed Freya's humiliated expression and smiled. "Hey, no reason to be embarrassed. It happens." Freya's expression never changed. When Curtis came back, Don excused herself for lunch.
Today's lunch was Don's favorite. American.
Great Debate
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 07-23-08 17:18
Charlotte tottered several feet in front of her father, dragging a bouquet of long-stemmed wildflowers on the cobbled path behind her. Lysander, mind elsewhere, hardly seemed to care that the blossoms he intended on laying on his fallen wife's grave were breaking from their misuse. Dawn Fox seemed to pop by at regular intervals these days, hoping to find out if Lysander and Charlotte would travel with her and Michael to Argentina to visit Aralyn.
Lysander had long thought that he had no intention of ever reuniting mother and daughter, but a new letter from Aralyn directly had him wondering whether he should make the visit after all. Aralyn, perhaps sensing his reluctance to bring Charlotte to Argentina, or maybe having heard from her mother about Lysander's seemingly inability to make a decision, had written Lysander again.
In her letter she'd stated that if Lysander allowed Aralyn to see her daughter just this once, she would never, ever ask for another reunion again. Never, would she contact Lysander for any reason. Never would she expect him to keep her updated on Charlotte's life. She would even ask that her parents leave Lysander and Charlotte alone. All Aralyn wanted was to see Charlotte one last time.
Lysander debated why he should give Aralyn even one chance with Charlotte, but not having the Foxes, any of them, bother him or his daughter again certainly had its appeal.
He snapped out of his reverie when Charlotte stumbled over her feet and fell onto her hands and knees. The wildflowers scattered next to her, looking a little worse for wear.
Lysander scooped Charlotte up into his arms just when she began to cry. He kissed her cheeks and tried to soothe her. It wasn't long before her crying subsided and soon even the sniffling and tears went away. Lysander picked up the dilapidated flower bouquet and continued on his way to the graveyard with Charlotte in his arms. For a moment, his concerns were forgotten.
Taking Control
Author: Cailyn Spicer
Date: 07-23-08 17:40
It was raining again, and there was a harsh cool wind that continued to blow the rain towards the steps in the court yard were Cailyn sat quietly. Her cloak was wrapped around her snuggly and she held a cup of hot coco in her cold hands. The coco warmed her slightly but the rain drenched her.
There was a tiny bird that kept flapping its wings madly and trotting around the court yard looking for food and entertaining Cailyn as she sat in the rain watching it. No one had bothered to come for her and she didn’t expect anyone to notice she was sitting in the rain. The bird flapped its wet wings over to Cailyn and perched itself next to her. It looked at her extendedly as if it knew she had a few bread crumbs for it. She supposed that this was because other students had fed the bird as well.
So she slipped her left hand into her left pocket and pulled out the bread crumbs she had brought for her bird friend. It was pretty sad when your only friends were a ghost and a pigeon. At least back home, no she had to stop thinking about America. It was pretty clear that she wasn’t going there ever again. Her father had made it very clear that their life was in England now and it was high time she gave up her fancies of ever going back to America. He was very content to live his life out in England.
What her father didn’t realize was that this was Cailyn’s last year at Hogwarts. This meant it was her last year in school. It also meant she had to past her classes and lessons with flying colors. No fooling around and skipping classes she had to pass those O.W.L.S. She had worked hard during the summer to make sure she was ahead in her lessons, had caught up on everything she had missed and even studied those thing she didn’t really need to know. Next year she was going to step out into the world on her own and there wasn’t anything anyone could do to stop her. Not Snider nor the Ministry of Magic. She would open a shop like Alice had. She didn’t know exactly what she was going to do with that shop or were it was going to be. Maybe she would even stay in England.
And the most important part was the she was going to find Paige and take Paige with her were ever it was she was going. So all she had to do was come up with a plan and find out where Paige was. She frowned at the pigeon who just looked at her as if she was mad. And maybe she was, but at least she had some sort of plan to go by.
Cailyn finally sat up and nodded her head. She looked up at the raining sky. It might be raining today, but the future was all planned and now all she had to do was set her courses into action and take control.
(Sydney, Australia) Arrival
Author: Desdemona Diamond
Date: 07-23-08 22:30
Oh the bloody heavens I hate airports. So many people, so much echo, so many other noises. It’s not something to look forward to after spending almost a whole freaking day virtually suck in a place smaller then a jail cell. Being tortured by movies that drive you insane. Someone would be close to death if they attempted to be nice.
As I trudged through the airport towards where the signs were pointing towards baggage claim, I turned my cell phone back on. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had a voice mail or two from my mom. I forgot to tell her what I was up to before I left.
As expected, my phone wasn’t being nice, taking forever to work. So, sighing, I put it back in my pocket at kept walking. I passed through Immigration, and made it to the baggage claim when my phone started making noises. Voicemails… 6 of them. I sighed again; only my mother would leave me so many voicemails in less then a day. She was probably worried that I was carried off too. I’ll have to listen to them later.
I stood next to the baggage claim thingy that my flight was supposed to be using for a good few minutes before the thing started to move. Bags slowly dropped onto it, before more and more bags started to flood the poor device. A few more minutes went by before my bag appeared and made it’s way towards me.
Just as I started the process of yanking the moving bag off the carousel, my phone rang. Not willing to give up the bag, I tugged again to get it out from under an even heavier bag. The fight continued for a few seconds before some large man moved the bag on top of mine and I yanked mine clear, almost immediately dropping it on the floor.
“Thanks,” I said to the kind mind with a flash of a smile before grabbing my phone. He responded, but I already wasn’t paying attention. A quick glance at the screen revealed it was Rich, of all people calling me. Quickly pressing the answer button, I put the phone up to my ear.
”Hello? Rich, if you can hear me, it’s loud here,” I said into the phone. I started dragging my bag away from the chaos of baggage claim to someplace quieter.
“Desi? It’s hard to hear you,” I just barely heard Rich say, but he kept going since I guess he heard the noise level dropping, “I managed to save your butt again.”
“Huh? I needed saving?” I managed to find a quieter spot to stop walking.
“I managed to get you a hotel. It might be a four star, but it’s better then what you’d have found on your own I bet!”
“Oh, shut it. I wasn’t thinking that far ahead is all.”
“You rarely do. Anyways, you’ve got a place to go sleep before you kill someone for looking at your hair funny.” He gave me the name of the hotel and other details as I headed outside to find a taxi. I made the taxi ride in peace, almost falling asleep, if it hadn’t been for the taxi driver’s driving. Once at the hotel, I paid the bad driver and checked in. I made it into the room, having to fight the ever closing door, with my luggage, found the soft bed and crashed.
Santorini, Greece: Ted Remus Lupin
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 07-24-08 18:27
The baby yawned and clenched his little fists together. He shut his eyes and soon fell asleep. His mother held him in her arms, bundled in a soft blue blanket given to her by her guests. Ted Remus Lupin had been born in the wee morning hours of September 6, 2002 and his proud parents had wasted no time in notifying some of their dearest friends, albeit only those known to be living in exile like them.
Bill and Fleur had left Marseilles at a reasonable hour and journeyed to Santorini, to the home Tonks and Lupin shared, and where young Teddy had been born. Bill had wondered whether seeing the newborn would be hard on Fleur, who had long wanted a child of her own, but Fleur showed no sign of feeling sorry for herself or her inability to carry a child to full-term. Instead, she gazed adoringly at the sleeping babe and appeared quite honored to hold him when Tonks offered.
"He's beautiful," Fleur murmured, holding Teddy in her arms as if he were more precious than anything on earth.
Remus sat on the side of the bed and carefully put an arm around his still-weary although extremely elated wife. "Thank you. I think he looks like Tonks."
"I see a little bit of you een 'im too," Fleur replied, never removing her gaze from the baby's face.
Remus beamed. "It was easy naming him. Ted after Tonk's father. Remus after me. Teddy seems the natural nickname."
"I like eet," Fleur murmured. "'E eez like a little teddy bear, eez 'e not?"
"We were thinking about asking Harry to be Teddy's godfather," Tonks spoke up, gazing from her son to Fleur to Bill in turn.
"I think he'd be honored," Bill answered. "Have you heard from him at all?"
"Not a peep," Tonks replied. "What about you?"
"News seems little to come by these days. I do wish everyone would leave the United Kingdom. It's not safe there anymore." Bill sighed. "But on the other hand, if we leave, they've won, haven't they? Nothing will ever change if we're not there to fight for it."
Remus nodded. "I know exactly what you mean." He looked at Teddy. "I like it here in Santorini, but it's not home. I want Teddy to go to Hogwarts someday, but only if things change for the better."
Bill sighed knowingly. He didn't at all mind living in France but he, too, wanted to return home. He wanted to see all his family again and live happily and peacefully as he had in the past. Maybe, one day, he would again.
(Callum) Weekend Getaway
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 07-25-08 11:10
"Greenwich. Are you sure?"
Meadow studied Callum's expression carefully. He wasn't exactly the brightest of the Towneley family and didn't always remember things properly. His sometimes obvious lack of intelligence was partly to blame for her leaving. She really wondered how he did so well in his line of work and had often attributed it to dumb luck, only in this case she actually knew better. For whatever reason, Callum had a true talent for marketing and advertising. He was good-looking and charismatic, too, which probably helped him sell himself and whatever product he currently promoted.
"You know, it's odd. I know he told me Greenwich, but at the same time, it's like my mind doesn't want to process it as being true. It's like there's a fog hanging over that particular memory," Callum replied, furrowing his brow and still looking handsome while doing it.
They were in the car, with Callum driving and Meadow in the passenger seat. They had just entered London, where Meadow had suggested they go for a weekend retreat. Callum had taken the day off to make the journey from Bristol and so that they could have a longer weekend together.
"I think I understand what you mean," Meadow answered, looking thoughtfully out the window.
"I think we should try to stop by his place," Callum said. "Just for a moment, really, to make sure he's okay. Then we'll go on to the B&B and, you know, have our romantic weekend together."
Meadow turned to Callum and smiled shyly. "I think that's a marvelous idea."
"Ah, there it is. Greenwich."
Callum make the appropriate exit and drove into the greater London neighborhood, where he slowed down considerably, much to the consternation of the cars behind him. They honked and sped past him, with fists raised and expletives flying from their mouths, but Callum paid them no mind. He wanted to find his brother's place and honestly wasn't quite sure where to look.
Meadow looked very alert as she gazed out the window. A full ten minutes of silence past between her and Callum before she made an exclamation.
"There!"
"Where?" Callum didn't really see anything of interest.
"Over there!" Meadow exclaimed again, and when Callum didn't react, she reached for the steering wheel and turned it roughly onto a side road, which curved some distance along the Thames.
Callum carefully took the wheel back from Meadow and followed the road. At first he didn't see anything but then houses began to magically appear along either side of the street. He slowed to a complete stop and blinked his eyes.
"Now you see?" Meadow pressed flatly.
"I see, and I remember now." Callum released his foot from the brake and eased forward, looking from left to right until he found the duplex in question. He pulled to a stop against the curb in front of a certain duplex and turned off the engine.
"This is it. This is where my brother Ethan lives."