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So Very Early
Author: Griet
Date: 10-23-08 03:48
Griet woke with a start. Already, her roommates stirred and started to rise from their uncomfortable beds. Before breakfast, they all had chores to do. Griet scrambled out of her thin blanket, which had somehow gotten tangled around her feet, and rose with the other girls. She yawned and wiped sleep from her eyes. She didn't know what time it was but knew that it was some ungodly hour. It was pitch black outside, too.
Sometime later, she stepped outside into the frigid air and made her way from building to building, lighting the fireplaces and the lamps. There weren't so many fireplaces since the idea wasn't to keep the children warm, but there were quite a lot of lamps, and without her wand, it took Griet a little more effort to get every single one lit.
She had just finished lighting the lamp just outside Professor Carrow's door when she turned abruptly and nearly collided with Oberon.
"Sneaking up on me?" Griet whispered angrily, as she moved to sidestep him.
Oberon blocked her path. "No. You just happened to be in my way," he replied in a hushed tone.
Just like at Hogwarts, the two had had their problems at Happy Haven. They perhaps didn't argue quite as often as they once had since fighting with each other wasn't the best way to expend any lingering energy they had, but occasionally they exchanged heated words.
Griet sidestepped Oberon again and this time he let her pass, though he fell into step beside her.
"Is there something you want?"
"Is there something you want?" Oberon answered.
"Yeah," Griet responded, annoyed, "I want to get the hell out of this place."
"You and me both."
They ran into Gervaise, with whom Griet had started getting along last year. Since arriving at Happy Haven, he'd become quite withdrawn but always seemed to perk up around either Oberon or Griet. Without his friends there, Griet was sure Gervaise wouldn't have lasted this long.
"Breakfast isn't quite ready. Have you finished your chores?" he asked them both.
"Yes," Oberon replied.
"Not quite," Griet responded, "but almost. I'll meet you there later."
She walked away from them to light some more lamps and attempted to ignore the loud growling coming from her stomach.
Practice Makes Perfect
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 10-23-08 06:40
"All clear," Maverick murmured as he came up to Ethan, who'd been positioning a ladder outside one of the cabins at Brecqhou. He gestured with his hand for Ethan to move along to the side of the house where there wasn't a window and where a great number of trees gave shade from the pale sun, which could hardly be seen through the thick band of clouds in the wintry, overcast sky.
Nodding almost imperceptibly, Ethan moved away from the ladder and stooped to pick up a pail as if he were going to conduct more work on the other side of the house. He quietly lowered it to the ground once he found cover from the house wall and the trees and closed his eyes for a moment. He breathed in and breathed out and concentrated hard on what he intended to do.
Then he opened his eyes, focused on a space between two thick tree trunks and whispered determinedly, "Patronus!"
Nothing happened.
Ethan didn't let his lack of success discourage him. He knew he wouldn't get it right on the first try, or the hundreds in between, but eventually, if he really put his mind to it, he probably could do it. He'd done it before, after all. Well, perhaps not cast a patronus without a wand, but he had successfully performed wandless magic once upon a time.
He tried again.
"Patronus!"
And again, nothing.
He tried again and again, but to no avail.
One last time, then, he told himself, realizing he probably needed to get back to his work before someone noticed what he was up to. Maverick was serving as his lookout but Ethan didn't want to cut things too close in case someone snuck upon them.
"Patronus!" he whispered fiercely, and was surprised by the fact that a sliver of silver emerged from somewhere, traveled a few feet, and dissipated into thin air.
He resisted the overwhelming urge to shout for joy. He may not have cast his patronus, but he'd gotten a small result from all his efforts!
"Ethan, can you lend me a hand?" Maverick called.
Ethan quickly picked up the pail and came around the corner, where he found Maverick on the top of the ladder. A quick look in the distance informed Ethan that one of the community's employees was trolling the vicinity. Ethan climbed up the ladder and onto the roof, where Maverick had started cleaning the gutters, which were full of snow, leaves, and twigs.
"Well?" Maverick asked quietly.
Ethan couldn't help but smile. "Not altogether unsuccessful, for once."
Maverick nodded, pleased to hear the news. "I knew you could do it. Out of all of us, you were always the strongest," he said, refering to the Project 25ers. "That's why you were able to fight Voldemort's enchantment. It baffled him, you know."
"It baffled me," Ethan said. He only knew now that a prophecy about him had more or less pointed out his skill, but Ethan didn't know why he was the way he was and perhaps never would know. He looked towards the community employee, who seemed to be approaching the cabin. "Quiet for now. We've got company."
The men fell silent and went through the routine of cleaning the gutters, though Ethan couldn't help but think about trying out his patronus again.
Ailments
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 10-24-08 09:36
A strong gust of wind whipped the threadbare shawl Minerva had managed to scrape together from a pair of torn blankets off of her shoulders and into the air, where it took flight for several seconds before plummeting to the earth. It landed on a patch of slush and became very nearly fully soaked before Minerva could retrieve it. Sighing, she didn't bother to put it back on, even though she really didn't think she could get any colder.
More of her flesh was exposed than she would have liked because she didn't have proper winter attire. Recently, she'd taken to binding her toes with torn bedsheets before stuffing them into her stockings and shoes. She'd only done it when she noticed that the tips of a few of her toes had begun to turn purplish and then black, a sure sign of frostbite. Surprisingly, her fingers hadn't fared the same way yet, but she did have a couple of blisters that she was sure hadn't come from holding the shepherd's crook for too long.
She expelled another sigh and then willed herself to continue moving. If she kept walking, she would at least be able to let her blood circulate up and down her legs. She also made a better effort to move her arms and hands, though her knuckles were so dry that they'd begun to crack and peel, and sometimes the slightest movement felt absolutely unbearable.
Her animals had not been let out to graze since there wasn't anything for them to eat on the moor. Instead, she'd worked on feeding and grooming them in the barn, and now that she was finished, she wanted to return to her cabin to see if she could find someone to rebind her arm. Without healer's magic, Minerva's broken wrist hadn't healed overnight. The process of refusing bones took much longer without spells and potions, and unfortunately, Minerva hadn't gotten any medical care whatsoever. As a result, it would be a good while longer before she might ever be completely healed, though the possibility stood that the bones had already begun to reknit themselves in the wrong position and that she would never truly be untroubled by her wrist again.
Carrying the wet shawl in the other hand, Minerva continued in the direction of her cabin. She walked slowly, although she wanted to hasten from the cold, because the ground was slick with ice. Twice already, she'd nearly fallen. She really didn't want to break her other wrist, too!
At some point during her trek across the community grounds, her movement started to stall and her vision blurred. She took a single step and then fell onto the ground when her legs could no longer keep her upright. She saw only black before she slipped into unconsciousness.
Gathering Information
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 10-24-08 12:19
With Alastor Moody at his side, Bill slipped into a whole-in-the-wall coffee bar in Muggle London not far from King's Cross Station. It was Bill's first return to the mother country since his exile to France last spring. He'd been away for nearly an entire year! The urge to pop in at Hogsmeade and check on the state of his home overwhelmed him terribly, but he knew he couldn't risk the visit.
He'd only briefly been told his reason for returning to Britain but would soon get a more detailed explanation. Alastor, while making undercover observations in mainly wizarding London but other places as well, had come upon a wizard he'd soon identified as someone interested in changing the current state of the country. He'd been careful in forming his opinion on the individual, but after extensive surveillance and direct conversations with him, Moody felt certain the wizard was someone they could all trust. However, Moody kept certain details about himself quiet, since one could never be too careful, especially these days.
He had gathered information from the wizard that fell very much in line with investigations in which the Order of the Phoenix was already involved, and after hearing the wizard's testimony and indeed witnessing some of what he'd said himself, Moody hatched a plan in which Bill would play an integral part.
"There," Moody spoke into Bill's ear and pointed in a darkened corner, where a man around Bill's age sat with a large, turqouise blue coffee cup at his elbow.
The man had looked up at the tinkle of the bell over the door and recognized Moody instantly. He raised his hand in a small wave and stood when Bill and Moody reached the table.
"Hi, Al," the wizard greeted, using the name Moody had given him once they'd been introduced.
"Well met. This is the friend I told you about, Bill Williams."
Bill hadn't yet heard the alias but reacted without missing a bit. "Pleased to meet you," he said, holding out his hand.
"Likewise," the wizard replied, "and in case Al neglected to mention it, the name's Weston Ravenscroft." He let go of Bill's hand and gestured to the empty chairs at his table. "Please sit."
Bill and Moody pulled out two chairs and sat. A barista looked over, and when Weston met her eye and held up two fingers, she nodded and proceeded to fix up two more giant cups of flavored coffee.
"I've only told Bill the gist of why he's here, but I'd really like you to tell him from your point of view what you've observed," Moody said to Weston.
Weston took a sip from his coffee and then replied, "Of course. Before I begin, I guess I should give a motive as to why I'm doing what I'm doing. My fiancée is missing, like so many other wizards in the world, and I'm desperate to get her back.
"By chance, I was sitting in The Leady Cauldron one day, when I overheard a pair of men talking about some place called Goen Bren. Ordinarily, accidentally hearing something about someplace I've never heard of wouldn't really catch my attention, since it could be such a frequent occurrence, but what they said really jumped out at me. I'm the first to admit that maybe I let my imagination run away from me, but I couldn't help but wonder if what I envisioned was real. After all, we don't know where are loved ones are. Are they even still alive? I have no way of knowing, do I?"
He paused and took another sip of his coffee. Bill sipped his too and patiently waited for Weston to continue.
"They spoke of this Goen Bren and implied that many people lived or worked there. I say implied because they were never really clear what was going on; they always seemed to skirt around hard facts in their conversations."
"Conversations?" Bill repeated. "It sounds like you've eavesdropped on them more than once."
"It's true," Weston said. "They visit The Leaky Cauldron daily, and I've made it a habit of listening in on their discussions."
Bill nodded and said no more, wanting Weston to go on.
"It's really the way they spoke of the people at Goen Bren. Like they were no better than animals... " He sighed and shook his head. "It's a big leap, but I can't help but think it's something worth pursuing."
Weston fell silent, waiting for either Moody or Bill to speak. Moody, meanwhile, exchanged a meaningful glance with Bill. Bill knew what his colleague was thinking. Goen Bren could very well be a community like The Mews or Camp Lollipop.
"So," Moody finally said, "we have two men who work for Goen Bren, two men whose breakfast schedules we know well... Do you see where I'm going with this, Bill? Weston's been unable to follow them to where they go each day, so if we want to get to the bottom of this, there is an option we can pursue."
"You want us to go in their places," Bill said, thinking of Charlie going undercover at The Mews.
Moody nodded. "Bingo."
Freezing While Waiting
Author: Jared
Date: 10-24-08 14:14
New Year's Eve Jared had followed Coco until he lost sight of her in the dark. By that time they'd been flying for a long time - though perhaps it seemed far longer than it was given how very cold the night air was at the altitude Jared was flying. Jared hoped they were close to wherever Coco's destination was and dropped down to make a magical marker to help him find the approximate spot again.
Between that night and returning to Hogwarts for winter term, Jared had made the trip whenever he could, and during the day when possible, using a concealment charm to keep him from being visible to Muggle eyes. Coco had made the trip to the Wynbourne's only one other time while Jared and Etta were still home and that night Jared again followed her on the return for as long as he could, making it a little further that time.
During that particular visit, Jared had given Coco two more wands to take back to Happy Haven with her and Abigail had provided more warm clothing, particularly socks as that had been a request Coco had made.
The day before Jared was due back at Hogwarts, he'd been on the verge of giving up hope of actually spotting Happy Haven. He'd told himself five more minutes of scouting then he'd go home, making it back in time to clean up and meet his parents and Etta at his maternal grandparents' for dinner.
With under a minute to spare, Jared had spotted a compound that had the tangible atmosphere of a prison. He'd found Happy Haven! Or, if not Happy Haven, another similar place. Jared knew it was a Wizarding compound because he could see a few people in heavy winter Wizarding robes strolling around the walls as if doing guard or sentry duty.
Jared had flown home elated. That night after returning from his grandparents' for dinner, he'd written a note to Coco and left it in a sealed envelope with his mother to give Coco on her next visit, should that visit be after he'd gone back to school.
The next day, on the Hogwarts Express and yesterday, after his two Monday classes - Ancient Runes and Herbology - had ended, Jared thought about what he'd written in the note to Coco and how he was going to carry through with the promise he'd made in it to help her and the others escape Happy Haven.
Abigail Wynbourne had put a secret keeping charm on Etta, Alexa, and Jenny but not Jared. He didn't ask her why but supposes it's because he's technically an adult and even as his mum she couldn't make him agree to the charm. It's a good thing his mum didn't press him to it because being free to talk about Coco and what she's told them is going to allow Jared to both pass the information along and to get more supplies, such as wands, to get to the Happy Haven prisoners.
Jared knows Deak and Drake Bennett, Kody Reese-Emerson, and Phinfilius Hodfuffer through Quidditch, through Sage, and through friends like Emerald Green. Though not best friends with any of them, they are nonetheless friends. Jared knows that Phin's family helped the Green sisters' siblings. Phin is great friends and bandmates with Kody and Drake. Jared is fairly certain from a few things Sage has said that those three are part of the Resistance. Drake is Deak's brother. Their adopted father Aaron Miller and a number of relatives through their adopitve family are among the missing. They are part of Sage's family through marriage and Sage is one of Jared's best friends.
It's a logical to conclude that Deak is sympathetic to the Resistance. Sage, Deak, Drake, and Kody have the type of money needed to fund supplies.
Meeting with Sage and Dealk, filling them in, and getting them to agree to help as well as getting Drake, Kody, and Phin - it's key to have people who can move freely outside of Hogwarts - is why Jared is stomping his feet against the frigid chill while waiting under one of the Quidditch stands. Jared hadn't said anything yet to Sage about Coco because he'd not wanted to speak a word of it until he'd come up with some ideas.
Jared's pulling a cap down more tightly over his ears when he spots Sage and Deak. Keeping his voice low, Jared calls out, "Over here," to which Sage asks with humor, "Couldn't find a colder spot to meet?"
Secret Conversation
Author: Sage Porter
Date: 10-24-08 18:00
Sage had spent part of the holiday at Hogwarts with Saffron, at Sassy's, at his mum's in America, and, unfortunately, with his da and step-mother Birdie. Sage doesn't dislike Birdie but she's overly subservient to his father and she does have supremicist views. Or perhaps she doesn't but Lorengrin tells her to have them.
Sage was back at Hogwarts when those other students who'd left for the break came back. This meant that Sage hadn't seen Jared during until late Sunday afternoon, so had missed Jared being pensieve on the train. That evening, however, Sage noticed that there was something going on but when he asked, Jared told him, "I'll tell you later."
Jared had been quite and distant all day Monday and during the day today through their four classes of DADA, Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions. When they left Potions, Jared asked Sage to bring Deak to the pitch in an hour and to look for Jared under the grouping of stands on the western side.
Sage had locted Deak and they'd bundled up against the cold. Deak waited until the two were walking away from the castle to ask, "What's going on?"
Shaking his head, Sage answered, "I don't know."
The light was totally gone by the time they'd reached the pitch but a few of the lamps surrounding the pitch were lit, saving them from having to use their wands and the Lumos spell. From the pitch itself came the sound of a few hardy souls playing a pick-up game of Quidditch. If not for agreeing to meet Jared and wanting to know what's up with him, Sage would have gone and joined the game.
Sticking to the stands, walking around the pitch under the cover of them, Deak and Sage reach the western edge and start peering more intently into the shadows in search of Jared. Seconds later, from very close by they hear, " "Over here."
Reaching his friend, Sage couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Jared trying to keep warm. He asked, "Couldn't find a colder spot to meet?"
"I would have said the locker rooms but I knew there was a chance there's be students down here. Didn't want to chance any of them walking in and possibly overhearing."
Deak asks, "The stables?"
"Yeah, good idea," Jared replies.
They walk to the stables in silence, all noticing the temperature dropping even more in the short time it takes to make the walk. Once inside, Jared instructs in a near whisper, "Check to make sure no one's about."
Only when Jared's satisfied do Sage and Deak find out why Jared's insisted on the secrecy. He fills them in on Coco's visit to the Wynbournes' home, on Happy Haven, on following her, on giving her clothing and three wands.
When he's done, Deak asks, "Are they all okay?"
Jared's mouth twists into a frown. He sorrowfully answers, "No. Coco said Adella Darling died."
Sage tries to picture which girl was Adella Darling. He vaguely recalls the Sorting last school year and there being a girl named Adella. Hearing that she's died, Sage regrets not having known her and feels immensely sad for her family, if any of them are alive somewhere.
"What of Wiggy? Jack? The Wenlock cousins?" Deak asks, breaking the half minute of silence that came on the heels of hearing of one the death of a Hogwarts student.
Sage blurts out before he's able to stop himself, "And Georgia?"
"Georgia Copperpot?" Jared asks. "Nothing specific about her, or the others either," he tells them.
"We need to get word to the Resistance," Deak says.
"That's why I wanted to tell both of you. Drake's in the Resistance, isn't he?"
Simultaneously Sage and Deak nod then Deak says, "I'll send a coded message to Drake."
"There's more, though, isn't there?" Sage asks Jared.
"I want to get more wands to Coco. We need funds and people who can visit wand shops and second hand shops."
"Done," Deak states.
"Coco insists that if there's an escape, it's everyone in one shot."
"That's going to be difficult," Sage says, stating the obvious.
"Extremely."
Deak asks, "You have something in mind, Jared?"
"Coco was thinking Thestrals or other flying horses. When I reconned the area I saw a road. Maybe if we could get a bus or something."
Sage grins. "Something like the Hogwarts magical RV that holds a ton of people?"
Jared grins back. "I knew you'd come in handy for something."
The boys spend another half hour in deep conversation, leaving the stables only because they were all starving.