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New Found Freedom
Author: Griet
Date: 12-11-08 18:23
Griet rolled onto her back and opened her eyes. For a moment, she didn't know where she was, but then it came to her in a flash. No longer was she at Happy Haven. She'd been rescued and taken to a safe house far, far away from the place she never wanted to see again.
She suddenly became acutely aware that she was on her back on the cold floor and that she was naked. Someone had at least thrown a blanket over her, but Griet nevertheless felt embarrassed. She hated the monthly condition that forced her to shed her clothes before sundown (lest she want them ruined) and wake up starkers at sunrise.
She sat up and carefully arranged the blanket around her body so that she didn't show parts of her anatomy she really didn't want anyone else seeing. As she took in her surroundings, which still seemed foreign to her, she recalled the day before yesterday's exciting events.
Everything had gone as planned. At the signal, she and the other girls in her dorm had left the building in their haste to reach the exit, where a getaway car had waited for them. Griet had made it to the vehicle without entering a single duel or getting injured by an intended or deflected spell. She considered herself very lucky, especially considering that she hadn't felt all that well the day before yesterday. It had been the day before the full moon, which had been a cause of great consternation for her.
After all, what would happen the next day, yesterday, when the full moon brightened the night sky?
She'd revealed her situation at the first opportunity. Her rescuers had made all sorts of arrangements for every student, and while they hadn't anticipated a werewolf among the bunch, they'd soon made accommodations for her without terrible difficulty. The only problem had been acquiring Wolfsbane Potion. At such short notice, Griet had had to experience the transformation without the potion. It hadn't been the first time she'd gone without, but all her transformations at Happy Haven hadn't gotten her any used to enduring it without the potion to calm her.
Griet had spent the night in a room, partially partitioned by a magical barrier that prevented her from leaving it by any means. She'd growled and howled, rammed her shoulder into the walls, and clawed at the wooden floor until her fingers bled. She'd yet to see her entire body, but from what she could already see, she looked just as she felt––terrible.
Griet could hear voices somewhere else in the house. She slowly climbed to her feet, still clutching the blanket around her body, and groaned. The barrier that had been between her and the door had been lifted earlier, so she easily walked to it and gently cracked it open to peer out into the hall.
A face suddenly appeared in sight, that of a girl in her twenties or so.
"Oh, you're awake." She smiled at Griet and said, "The bathroom's right across the hall. Why don't you get freshened up and I'll find some clean clothes for you to wear. I think we're roughly the same size."
"What time is it?" Griet asked. She felt very disoriented, being in an unfamiliar place and having just woken up when it seemed the whole house was wide awake. She could hear voices throughout the house, and caught sight of people passing through a room at the end of the hall.
"Oh, it's just about noon. I peeked in at dawn to check on you, but you were sound asleep and I didn't want to wake you after the night you had. I came in a few more times after that, but I figured you needed your rest. I can imagine you probably don't feel rested at all, though..."
Griet nodded slowly. On the one hand, she felt as if she'd slept better than she had all the nights she'd spent at Happy Haven, but then she also felt exhausted.
"The bathroom?" Griet pointed a worn and slightly blood-encrusted finger at the door opposite hers, which she could see over the older witch's shoulder.
"It's all yours. There are clean towels in the cabinet over the toilet. Take as long as you need."
The girl stepped out of the way to allow Griet access to the bathroom, which she staggered toward on two legs that hardly seemed capable of bearing her weight (even as slight as it currently was). She closed the door behind her and sank against it, exhaling a deep breath. After a moment, she went to the sink and gently scrubbed her fingers, and then she ran a bath in which she planned on sitting until her stomach demanded the breakfast she'd missed and the lunch that was probably nearly underway.
Furious (Euphemia Smythe-Jones)
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 12-11-08 18:30
Euphemia paces her office, still furious over the events that transpired Friday night and Saturday morning. Euphemia had been at a lovely Valentine's party when the first report came in of trouble at one of the communities. Euphemia had left for her office right away. When she got here, she was told the community was The Mews and it appeared that the prisoners were staging a mass escape.
Euphemia dispatched someone to The Mews then waited impatiently for word. When it came The Mews warden reported in person. Euphemia became so enraged the former warden has no idea how close he came to dying on the spot. The guards not injured or those injured but not needing a healer were reprimanded harshly - Euphemia being a strong believer that pain is an excellent deterrent from allowing something to happen again - those that were injured were seen by a healer, then reprimanded. All were reassigned, half of them going to Happy Haven as it's one of the few other communities that doesn't have Dementors helping keep order.
Euphemia was in her office Saturday morning, again impatiently waiting, for an explanation of how The Mews prisoners were able to escape. Guard after guard had reported all of the community members having wands with almost all of the descriptions being of makeshift wands. As of today, Euphemia's still attempting to ascertain how that was possible. The former warden is saying that the community members must have been aided by the some guards who are now unaccounted for, which does sound like the most plausible explanation.
In a totally unrelated incident, the students of Happy Haven staged their own mass escape. Unlike with The Mews, Happy Haven definately had outside help. Shortly after word of the breakout there reached Euphemia, she'd gone to see for herself the smashed gates where some sort of vehicle crashed through. As yet she has no idea what type of vehicle it was as it wasn't any sort known to the guards who saw it.
As with The Mews, every prisoner escaped. The only staff missing is Alecto Carrow but Euphemia has no notion of Alecto helping the brats. Gleefully inflicting misery upon them, yes. Helping them escape such a dreary existance, never. The only explanation on Alecto is she must have been taken prisoner. A handful of guards mentioned someone being levitated into the vehicle but none were able to positively say that person was Carrow. Nonetheless, Euphemia surmises that's exactly who it was.
After learning of the outside help, Euphemia put every available person investigating how that could happen. When Euphemia learned that one of the Happy Haven students is a registered animagus, she personally saw to the suffering of the person who failed to make sure Alecto had that information.
One guard came forward to tell of some sort of Inferius or similar creature breaching the Happy Haven walls. Euphemia's had her secretary searching the Happy Haven updates from Alecto for any mention of it and has had other Happy Haven staff questioned about it. Whoever sent the creature could be behind the assistance given to the students.
If it's not the animagus or the person responsible for the Inferius type creature, Euphemia has no idea how the students would have gotten the necessary help. Who would have found the community and been able to get wands in to the students without being detected?
Euphemia stops pacing, calling her secretary in to order, "Effective immediately, all staff at every community will undergo intensive questioning. I want every unreliable staffr weeded out." By the time Euphemia's done, the secretary hastens out to get memos written for each community that detail the questioning to be done now, random testing to be done, and security measures that are to be tightened.
Finally sitting down for the first time since arriving to her office this morning, Euphemia fights to get her rage under control. Damn but she could use Lysianthus McFusty's abilities right now. Ungrateful bitch, leaving a perfectly wonderful house where she was waited on hand and foot. All that was ever asked of her was to occassionally help the Ministry.
Euphemia still hasn't ascertained how exactly Lysianthus got away and managed to free those two House Elves in the process. At least Euphemia takes it they were somehow freed as neither of their bodies were at the house and neither has dutifully come when she's called their names.
Finding her anger is causing her to fidget too much to sit still, Euphemia exits her office to stalk the corridors of the Ministry.
Dragons
Author: Jolyon
Date: 12-12-08 16:34
The seventh year students, among them Mary Black, Crispin Cooke, Gaia Goyle, Sage Porter, and Mortimer Rollo, squeezed into the barn on the Hogwarts grounds, which housed a fair number of magical creatures, none of which they would study today. A magically-propelled projector stood near the center of the room, a beam of yellowed white light fixed against one of the few unobstructed walls in the barn. Five chairs with swing-out desk surfaces were arranged in a semi circle in front of the projector and facing the wall.
"Good afternoon, class," greeted Jolyon after the students had entered the barn. "Please take a seat."
They came forward and slid into the chairs in no particular order, though Mary and Crispin sat next to each other, as they often did.
"We're studying dragons today," Jolyon announced, and flicked his wand at the projector so that the first slide appeared on the wall behind him. It showed a black and white sketch of an adult dragon with pointed ridges down its spine and the length of its tail.
His students were instantly intrigued but looked disappointed when Joloyn explained that he didn't have any live specimens to show them. However, they immediately brightened when he said that he wanted to arrange a field trip to the MacFusty Hebridean Black Preserve if he could get Professor Snider and, of course, the MacFustys to agree to the visit.
"More on that later," he went on, smiling. "Can someone tell me how many breeds of dragon there are in the world?"
Sage raised his hand. "Ten."
"Correct. Five points to you, Sage." Jolyon flicked his wand at the projector, displaying the next slide which consisted only of text listing the ten dragon breeds.
"Ten breeds of dragon. Two are native to Great Britain, the Hebridean Black, as you may have already guessed, and the Common Welsh Green. Many more are native to northern and eastern Europe: the Swedish Short-Snout, the Norwegian Ridgeback, the Hungarian Horntail, the Romanian Longhorn, and the Ukranian Ironbelly. That leaves one native to South America, one native to China, and one native to Australia and New Zealand. Why do you think Britain and mainland Europe have such a high concentration of dragon breeds compared to the rest of the world?"
No hands went up in the air.
Jolyon smiled. "Your guess is as good as mine. Let's take a look at their habitats more closely, shall we?" He flicked his wand at the projector and displayed the next slide, that of a sweeping valley.
(Brisbane, Australia) Unexpected Arrival
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 12-13-08 13:42
"So, I think another shopping trip is in order," Bronwyn told Desi.
The two girls had spent the morning and early afternoon at Bronwyn's diner, Bronwyn working and Desi dining and reading the newspaper and various magazines. Now, after all that work, Bronwyn wanted to spend some of her hard-earned money, and some of Desi's too.
Desi rolled her eyes. "How did I guess you would say that?"
"You know me so well." Bronwyn laughed and grabbed a purse to match the shoes she had put on after work.
It had been nice having Desi visit for so long, but both girls knew that their time together, at least in Brisbane, was coming to an end. Desi had a real life to get back to in Seattle, though she'd already proposed that Brownyn, and maybe Toby if he was available, should come with her for a lengthy vacation of their own.
Bronwyn wanted to accept the invitation, since she'd grown tired her exile in Australia and longed to see something new. Of course, the trip to Seattle wouldn't be entirely new, since she'd been once before, but that had been years ago.
"Do you really have to change purses?" Desi asked incredulously, even though she already knew the answer.
"What do you think?" Bronwyn replied. Having just finished filling the purse she intended to carry, she went for the door. "Coming?"
"Right behind you," Desi answered, laughing.
Bronwyn threw open the door and gasped.
"Um, hi Bronwyn. Is Toby in?"
Bronwyn blinked in disbelief. "Katherine? How? Where? What?"
Desi didn't know Katherine personally but had heard her name a few times since coming to Brisbane. She gently pulled Bronwyn out of the way and said, "Come inside. Take a seat, anywhere."
Katherine smiled a small smile and tentatively stepped into the flat. The last time she'd been to Brisbane had also been her first time there, not even two years ago when a group of people, including Anthony and Bronwyn, had gone to visit Toby and see the local sights.
"I'm Desi," Desi said, holding out her hand right before Katherine slid onto the sofa. "Bronwyn's friend."
"Hi Desi. I'm Katherine, Bronwyn's sister-in-law."
Desi nodded politely and then cast a critical glance at Bronwyn, who remained in the doorway with her mouth agape.
Finally coming to terms with Katherine's unexpected arrival, Bronwyn gently shut the door and slowly walked to the adjacent armchair. She sat down and said, "Toby's got practice. I should tell him you're here."
"No, no," Katherine said, holding up her hands in mild protest. "I can wait for him to finish. He'll be home soon?"
"Oh, yes. Soon," Bronwyn replied, nodding a little too vigorously. She gaped at her sister-in-law. "Katherine... you were in prison... and then...?"
"At The Mews, a community for nons like you and me. We broke out five days ago."
Bronwyn's jaw fell open. "Tell me everything?" she pleaded. More than anything she wanted to know about her mother and brother. Had Katherine seen them? Were they free now too, wherever they were? Bronwyn figured Desi wanted to know about her father and sister, too. Maybe Katherine would have good news about them.
Katherine nodded. "I guess I should go back to the day I got arrested..."
Idle
Author: Coco Nutt
Date: 12-13-08 18:16
Peering out the window at a ground free of snow, Coco wonders if she'll ever miss the fluffy white stuff. She supposes she will though probably not even after this coming summer and fall. Perhaps by next year she will. Afterall, while the snow and ice did make Happy Haven an even more miserable place, even without snow and even without ice, Happy Haven would have been a contradiction to its name.
Picking up Pea from her lap and nuzzling the small dog, Coco tells him, "Oi know Oi've said it before and Oi'll be sayin' it again, but Oi'm so bloody 'appy the Wynbournes had us together by Saturday night."
Pea wiggles his whole body. The tiny dog's health had been declining until Coco began showing up at the Wynbournes those months ago. After that, he rebounded quickly, putting on the weight he'd lost. Pea is as happy, if not happier, than Coco to be reunited with her and has told her just as often as she's told him.
Leslie Burby, a Brit transplanted to Antwerp but who kept close ties with her friends and family in Great Britain enters from the kitchen. "Lunch is almost ready."
Coco sniffs the air appreciatively, "Smells marvy, though Oi'm still a bit stuffed from breakfast."
It doesn't take much good food to fill Coco's stomach. The healer that checked her out, one of several who helped with checkups for all the Happy Haven kids, had told Coco she'd need to go easy with food for awhile. It wouldn't take much to overindulge and with the circumstances as they were at Happy Haven, overindulging food could lead to health complications, even death. Because of this, Coco has been eating regularly but lightly, more food along the lines of soups than lots of solid foods. She's sure that's the case for all the other ex-Happy Haveners.
Leslie smiles at Coco in understanding. "Eat what you can now and it will be there later if you want something more this afternoon. Until lunch, why don't you go outside with Pea? It's so sunny right now but we are in for rain this evening and possibly some snow."
Coco nods, already on her feet. She goes to the closet where coats and jackets are kept, taking the one that has been loaned to her for the moment. It might be sunny out but it is chilly and when Coco took Pea out earlier to do his business there was a little bit of wind.
Putting a tiny sweater on Pea, Coco carries him close to her body. She crosses the narrow lane that runs in front of Leslie's house over to a small park. There she sits on a bench that's in direct sunlight, enjoying the sun on her face.
After lunch Coco's going to stick her head in the Floo and see how Fritz is doing. And then... Coco sighs. What she really wants to do is go see Papa Wal. Coco knows that he doesn't remember her and for now that's how it has to stay but that hasn't prevented her from wanting to at least see him from a distance. Mitzi and Abe too.
Perhaps what she'll do after lunch is get in some apparating practice. Maybe take some of the money she's been given and go buy a few more clothes. Maybe she'll see check out a Resistance meeting. She thinks there's one today she could attend but Coco might have the date wrong. She'll have to check.
A half hour later, having enjoying sitting in the sun with Pea, doing absolutely nothing but enjoying being idle, Coco returns to Leslie's for lunch, still unsure of what she'll do to fill the time afterwards.
A New Boarder
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 12-14-08 09:51
"We're very lucky, you and I," Minerva told the newest guest at the safe house in Vigo, Spain, "even with everything we endured." For emphasis, she used her good arm to point at the one still resting in a sling from when she broke her wrist. The bandages had come off of her fingers, the blisters there having healed, but the wounds on her feet were still wrapped and covered with plushy, bright pink socks.
"I am beginning to see that," said Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen, who had recently arrived after fleeing Happy Haven School For Nons. "Everyone left at Goen Bren suffers still, and then there are those who died."
"Poor Adella Darling," Minerva murmured, remembering the young girl from her own house, though by the time Adella had started at Hogwarts Carmella Flume had been Head of Gryffindor.
Upon arrival in Spain, Fritz had been unable to keep quiet about everything that had happened while at Happy Haven. He was especially proud of his Coco, who in his eyes was the heroine who had effectually made the escape from Happy Haven a reality. Minerva had listened attentatively, asking questions at appropriate intervals.
And when Fritz finished getting everything off of his chest, Minerva told him all the things she had witnessed while at Azkaban and then at Goen Bren. She told him who was there, whom he might know or remember from Hogwarts, and anything else she could think to add.
They were two adults, filling each other in on the horrors of what they had experienced and having for the first time, a long conversation and one that had nothing to do with Transfiguration or schoolwork in general.
"What do you suppose will happen now?" Fritz asked his former teacher, after a lengthy reflective pause.
Minerva sighed quietly, but not so softly that Fritz didn't notice it. He sensed the heaviness in his heart, and yet there was also a feeling of hope surrounding the older witch.
"A few battles we have won, but I'm afraid the war is far from over," she replied.
"I want to do my part to bring an end to it all," Fritz said.
"As do I," Minerva replied with a thin smile, "but think of your health first and foremost. You won't be any good to use if you don't take care of yourself, now that you are in an environment to do so."
She herself had slowly put on the weight she'd lost since her imprisonment, though she still didn't feel 100% yet. Fritz was young and would probably bounce back soon enough, but right now he looked as thin as a reed and could probably use several good night's rest before he really started to recover.
"Let's see about some lunch, shall we? How does creamy potato soup sound to you?" she asked him, more grandmotherly than Fritz had ever seen her in all the years he'd known her.
"I think I can stomach it," he replied with a smile. He helped Minerva to her feet and walked with her to the kitchen to see about that soup.