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Schnackenpfefferhausens at Breakfast
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 10-18-10 07:30
When Fritz comes down to breakfast on Monday morning, he finds his dad paging through The Times between sipping on his coffee, and his mother flipping pancakes in the kitchen. The only person not present is Otto, who has been at basic training in Münster for a couple of months now.
Fritz himself has a busy day ahead of him. First, he will have to apparate to Trier for his community service with Frau Hockenheim. Then he's got to book it to St. Emrys for his classes. He's really glad to be back in school again. He didn't realize how much he'd actually missed attending certain classes until term began at the university.
St. Emrys is definitely totally different than Hogwarts. Fritz can take whatever classes he likes, for the most part. He's enrolled in Blane College and plans on reading potions, his absolute favorite subject. This term he's taking Herbology, Potions, Potions Lab, DADA, and also Charms.
Fritz has considered finding himself a part-time job so that he can help pay for his education and related expenses, but he's not sure he wants to take on a job on top of his classes and his community service. Granted, he only goes to Germany three times a week for a couple of hours a day, so perhaps he could fit something in after all.
His parents haven't urged him to find a job, which might be part of the reason why Fritz hasn't yet. If he were ever to move out, however, then he probably would get serious about searching for one. But neither Franz or Mitzi have pushed for him to go off on his own, and Fritz doesn't yet feel like being an adult and living at home hinders him from living his life.
Part of him wants to stay home, at least for a little while. Being at Hogwarts, a boarding school, kept him away from his parents more often than not. But that was okay compared to his time at Happy Haven and thereafter when Fritz had been in hiding. His experiences back then are still fresh in his memories and remind him daily how precious life and family really are.
Fritz's mother comes to the breakfast table with a plate piled high with pancakes and sits down at her usual place at the table. She serves herself, then her husband takes a few, and then Fritz adds some to his plate. They eat together, partly in silence, but partly not, talking about this, that and the other before it's time for Franz to go to work and Fritz to go to Frau Hockenheim's house.
Stiff And Sore
Author: Christopher Chant
Date: 10-18-10 17:06
As Transfiguration ends, Christopher stiffly gets up and walks at a snail's pace behind his classmates. In the hallway, the Gryffindor fifth years turn to go to the nearest stairs to the second floor where they have Defense Against the Dark Arts next. The fifth year Ravenclaw students head for stairs also, going to the ground floor and from there the dungeon for Potions. At the rate Christopher's walking, he figures he'll reach Professor Snape's class right about halfway through. That will go over really well as Professor Snape is always so affable and empathetic to valid reasons for being tardy.
That thought has Christopher picking up his pace but as stiff as he is the increase in speed doesn't amount to much. Luckily for him, Jack Emerson and Daniel Gelson noticed how slow he's been today and before he knows it, Daniel's on one side and Jack on the other, physically picking him up and hustling to the stairs. At the staircase, they double check that no professor is around to stop them before having Christopher slide down the banister. At the landing they again get on either side of him and while they don't pick him up again, they do help Christopher get to the stairwell to the dungeon much more quickly than he would have on his own.
Thanks to his friends' help, Christopher is able to reach Potions in time. Thanking them both, he makes it under his own steam to his seat. Professor Snape arrives on Christopher's heels and instead of just going around he moves slowly behind while Christopher moves from the aisle to his seat. He didn't turn to look at the professor's face but could feel Snape glaring. Once Snape has gotten past Christopher he snidely asks, "In need of a pepper up potion, Mr. Chant?"
"Aftereffect of the last Quidditch match Saturday, professor."
"Ah. That's right. You took a rather nasty spill. Better to have you here even if you are as slow as Mr. Martin here is to grasp the difference between coarsely chopping and mincing."
Milo, sitting just ahead of Christopher, blushes and looks down, clearly not happy at having been singled out even if there is some truth in the professor's statement. Neither he nor Christopher say anything in reply to Snape as each wisely knows not to purposely irritate the man. Snape whips around and walks the rest of the way to the front of the classroom and jumps right into the day's lesson.
Less than 10 minutes later, when both Milo and Christopher are waiting to get the same ingredient from a supply jar, Christopher whispers, "Sorry about that."
Milo nods in acknowledgement then whispers back, "Not your fault you had the spill and not your fault you know who over there is an flippin' old sod."
Christopher cracks a grin but quickly erases it as it would be so typical of Snape to not only see the grin but wonder aloud why someone would have the audacity to smile in his classroom. Back at his seat, Christopher sits to dice the root he's just gotten, relieved to be off his feet even if only for a minute.
The spill Christopher took came just past midway through the timed match between squads A and C at the Hogwarts Homecoming and Exhibition Match this past Saturday. Most of the matches that day had ended on time instead of with the snitch being caught, though in those matches there were several times the seekers came close. One of the matches in which the snitch was caught had ended right at the whistle as time ran out so catching the snitch in that instance hadn't been the game ender it normally would have been. For that last match, Christopher was determined to catch the snitch. The other seeker that match, Aleydis Vanderbilt, was equally determined. Aleydis might be far, far nicer than her seeker sister Cornelia when it comes to gamemanship and being a good sport, but like Cornelia, and like Griet for that matter, Aleydis is a fierce competitor.
There was maybe a quarter of the time left in the match when Christopher spotted the snitch. It was down near the grass, almost as if nesting there, all nestled and snug. He'd slowly eased down, never taking his eyes off that winged ball and doing his best not to let on to Aleydis he'd found the snitch. Her fierce competitiveness would come out in force then and she'd give Christopher a real battle for the winged ball.
Just about the time Christopher was to the snitch, fingers ready to close around it in a tight grasp, a bludger had come screaming down, sent by Basil Wynbourne he later learned (not that it mattered). The bludger simultaneously scared off the snitch and smacked into Christopher's hand, effectively knocking his hand away from where the snitch had been. By that time Aleydis had seen Christopher down near the ground, hand out, and had quickly deduced he was onto the snitch.
Aleydis saw where the snitch went before Christopher did and went in chase. Christopher, his hand smarting something fierce, had relocated the snitch with Aleydis after it and had gone in pursuit. The snitch climbed. And climbed. And climbed. Then it spiraled down right into the clutch of chasers. Christopher and Aleydis followed it, zigging and zagging around chasers, beaters, and both bludgers. The snitch stuck with the group of chasers, making it more difficult for either seeker to easily get to it.
Christopher outmanuevered Aleydis and was nearly upon the snitch again. Then he was tumbling to the ground. Then he was hitting the ground, gaining a new appreciation for the words splat. From his new vantage point of looking straight up, Christopher could see that there had been a huge collision of players and balls. They were still untangling brooms and limbs. Somehow Christopher's falling hadn't been immediately realized. He only lay on the ground half a minute, probably less, before someone did notice and was at his side but to Christopher it felt like a lifetime.
An overnight stay in hospital under Madam Pomfrey's watchful eye had Christopher mostly mended. She insisted he stay much of Sunday as well then when she did let him leave the hospital wing she told him it would probably be several days before the stiffness and soreness wasn't so noticeable. Christopher just wanted to leave as he'd begun having flashbacks to the spring when he'd had to stay in the hospital week for an extended period after contracting a strep infection that led to scarlet fever and Christopher's tonsils becoming unsalvageable.
"Your potion is looking acceptable, Mr. Chant." Snape's remark cuts into Christopher's thoughts.
"Thank you, sir."
"Miss Calloway, did you perhaps skip a step?" Snape asks Carlotta, already moving on from Christopher, leaving him to think back again to Saturday and only just now realizing he never did find out how the match ended.
Wandering Mind
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 10-19-10 18:04
Since class ended at 3:00, Ethan had been sitting in his office, working on lesson plans and waiting for any students to visit him with questions. Usually, he had a steady stream of students stopping by his office, most of them female, but a fair number actually had legitimate questions about an assignment or spell. Today he hadn't had a single one.
He didn't mind the lack of visitors too much, since it allowed him to work uninterrupted. Unfortunately, not having the distraction of explaning a concept to a student allowed his mind to wander while he worked.
The cut on his back had healed, and though under normal circumstances he would have had a thick scar, all that remained was a thin reminder of what had happened during that Dueling Club meeting. Ethan still thought Penn had something to do with the accident, though how and why remained the question.
Professor Dumbledore, meanwhile, had talked to all of Penn's teachers to get a feel of what he was like when he was with them. All agreed that the Slytherin first year was an exceptionally bright young man. He seemed very advanced for his young years and inexperience as a wizard.
They all found him a bit withdrawn and somewhat odd compared to other children his age, but none had reason to think badly of him. None felt as creeped out by him as Ethan either.
Ethan felt a bit bad about that, because there was nothing wrong with Penn as far as he could tell, other than the fact that he might have intentionally sliced open Ethan's back during the Dueling Club meeting. For whatever reason, Ethan simply found Penn kind of sinister. He wished he could put his finger on why that might be or find a reason not to think that way. Ethan didn't want to think ill of Penn if he was completely innocent. Some people were just kind of strange. Strangeness didn't necessarily mean bad.
Ethan glanced at his watch and noticed that it was nearly 5:00. Office hours were just about over. He started wrapping up what he was working on when there was a knock on his door.
"Come in," Ethan called, wondering who it might be.
For a second, he thought it might be Penn himself, but it was Rosamond. She came into the room and said, "My sister wanted to know if we wanted to meet her for supper."
The sister she referred to wasn't actually her sister. Aveline Boggs was the biological daughter of the adoptive parents who had raised Rosamond as part of Project 25. Although Rosamond had nothing more to do with them, she still kept in contact with Aveline, since Aveline had never known about Project 25 and wasn't a bad person herself.
"Sure," Ethan said. He would have either eaten at the Great Hall or gone home to Greenwich for supper, so going out with Aveline suited him just fine. "I'm done here, so we can go as soon as you want."
"It's early yet. Are you expecting anymore students?"
"No, office hours are officially over now."
Rosamond smiled slyly and slid onto Ethan's lap. Her baby bump wasn't large enough to make squeezing into the space between Ethan and his desk difficult. "Good," she said. "What can we do with our time until we meet up with Aveline, Professor Somerset?"
"An excellent question, Ms. Boggs."
Polyglottus
Author: Jet
Date: 10-19-10 20:01
Using his chopsticks, Jet points to a combination appetizer platter. "Pass me a spring roll, please."
Petra Karathanasis holds out the platter for Jet to get a spring roll the putting the platter back down asks, "You want to split this last satay?"
"You have it."
Petra picks up the chicken and reaches for the accompanying peanut sauce. "I think that's ours there."
She's referring to what's being carried by a waitress coming their direction. Petra and Jet shuffle a few things on the table so that when the waitress reaches them she's easily able to deposit Petra's Yum Neau and Jet's Tom Yum Goong, a salad and a soup, respectively. For their main courses Petra's ordered the Panange Curry, a peanut curry dish with basil that she's getting with chicken, and Jet's ordered the Gai Med Ma Muang, which has chicken, cashews, onions, and both red and green bell peppers all stir-fried in a traditional Thai sauce. Since they began working together they've often take meals together, sometimes lunch, sometimes supper, and about half of the time they get Thai because it's one of Petra's deep loves. They both like this particular restaurant because it offers excellent food at decent prices and because with the way the seating is arranged they are afforded the privacy of talking about their project without worry of being overheard.
The only drawback for Petra is that this being a Muggle establishment means she has be sure to always have some Muggle money on her pocketbook. For Jet that's not a big deal. Even though he's from a Wizarding family he's grown up with one foot in the Muggle world. It was only under the rules and laws of the previous Ministry that the Obsidians pretended they were above all that simply so they didn't have to go into hiding. If they hadn't be so sure Smythe-Jone's regime wouldn't last, they would have moved from Britain with Gethin and Robbie hoping their son would move with them. When the Ministry did fall, it didn't take the Obsidians long to resume their former lifestyle.
Their second course before them, Petra and Jet tuck in, trying to be mindful that they need to leave room for their main courses and for the dessert they wish to share, Kao Niaw Ma-Muang, which is a sweet sticky rice with ripe mango and coconut cream. Petra slowly chews a bite of her salad, savoring the flavors before continuing with the train of thought she'd just begun when Jet had asked for another spring roll.
"I'm starting to think we're on the wrong track."
"In what way?"
"I don't know really. A different direction with the charm or perhaps get off charms altogether."
"As in go to a potion?"
"Yes, I suppose that would be the option of not a charm."
The day Petra found Jet filing Department of Mysteries parchmentwork, they'd gone to lunch together, having a meal similar to the one they're having now. Over lunch Petra had explained to Jet the idea she'd had for a new project on which Jet would work as her assistant. Learning about Ariella Beck Masterson's LinguoCube and then seeing it in use was something Petra had found interesting. Hearing her father, a former British Ministry diplomat who Petra has long suspected was also a spy, talking about how such a device would have been useful for those times a translator wasn't available and times when it would have been better not to have a translator around at all. Given that Thomas Karathanasis speaks English, Greek, Italian, and German, hearing her father saying he wished he'd had something like the LinguoCube had Petra wondering if his desire for it had something to do with the spy work she thinks he did. That led Petra to the line of thinking that resulted in her presenting her idea to the Minister of Magic himself, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Minister Shacklebolt liked Petra's idea so after a conference between him, the head of the Department of Mysteries, and Petra, she was given the go ahead for the project. She was given Jet's name and that same day she found him feeding files to Filo. To this day there are only four people who know what the project is. The idea is to have a spell, or potion, that British undercover operatives such as spies and aurors can use when needing to be able to temporarily speak or read another language. Such a charm, or potion, would remain top secret so that foreign agencies would not have a similar advantage. It would also mean that an excellent invention such as the LinguoCube won't soon be made obsolete.
"Maybe we need to look into different terminology."
Petra nods, torn between taking one more bite of her salad and being done with it. "I've thought about that too. It's just that I sort of like Polyglottus or some variation on that and I really, really want it to be a charm. Making it a potion would be someone undercover in the field having to rely on having a supply of the potion. That's not very convenient."
"I agree. It's also easier to work it as a nonverbal charm should it start wearing off at a bad moment than it is to sneak a drink of potion."
Conversation is put on hold again at the waitress's approach with their main courses. When she moves away, Petra says, "Enough about work. Tell me about your upcoming trip."
Jet, who's going to a relative's wedding in Barbados, starts describing the beach area where the ceremony will be held and some of the things planned for the wedding guests starting on Friday.
Akina Drops By
Author: Kissy Isuki
Date: 10-20-10 22:41
Reviewing old lesson plans to help her with new ones, Kissy works on finishing up the writing of lessons plans for the last two weeks of November. Neither week's lessons are due to Professor McGonagall for awhile but Kissy hates working on them and so prefers getting them out of the way. She hates having to write them even though she knows there's legimate, rational reason and purpose in having lesson plans and even though at this point she's got enough lesson plans from her previous years of teaching to draw upon that unless she radically alters the order in which she presents information to her students, all she has to do is write what she's already written, making minor modifications as needed.
About the same time she's finishing up and putting a copy of the plans in her files and a copy in a folder to go to the deputy headmistress Kissy's Tuesday morning office hours are ending. She'll go to lunch then during her afternoon office hours Kissy will grade homework assignments from yesterday and make out a five item quiz to spring on her seventh years tomorrow. After making sure the charm on the office's small fireplace is set so that there is no chance of the crackling fire within spreading through the office and beyond, Kissy's reaching for the door to leave for lunch. She nearly jumps when at that exact moment there's a knock on the door. Pulling it open, she's more than a little shocked to find her sister-in-law standing there with Kasuki in her arms. Because the visit is so unexpected Kissy doesn't immediately say anything but instead allows her thoughts to go to something she's wondered many times since first learning her nephew's name: did her brother or Akina give anything thought to the sound of Kasuki Isuki?
Kissy quickly shoves that thought to the side. Her surpise evident in her voice, Kissy says, "Akina, this is unexpected."
Akina looks flushed and in the short time since Kissy opened the office door, Akina has twice shifted Kasuki from one hip to the other. Reaching out in wordless offer to take the child, Kissy smiles at her nephew, thinking he's grown since she saw him from across the pitch during one of the exhibition matches at Homecoming on Saturday. Akina, following Kissy's lead of not offering a standard greeting instead asks, "Are we interrupting anything?"
"No, not at all. I was on my way to lunch."
"Then we are interrupting. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dropped by like this."
Kissy can't recall the last time Akina showed any sort of sorrow or remorse for just dropping in on Kissy during working hours. She shakes her head and moves to the side of the doorway, gesturing inside with her free hand. "It's fine, Akina. Come in. Would you like to sit?"
Akina shakes her head causing strands of hair to fall across her face. She shoves them back then says with a slight temor in her voice, "I think Zen's having an affair."
"I'm sorry to hear that but why come to me? It's not as though we've been close the past few years. Zen doesn't tell me anything."
"That's out fault. That you aren't close I mean. You used to be. Before we all joined Traditions. Before we lied to you, attempted to trick you, coerce you, then in the time since acted as though we were the victims. I can't believe I was so condescending to you about how much you were hurting your parents. I'm so sorry, Kissy."
Kissy isn't sure what has her more in shock, Akina's sudden apology after all this time or that it's to Kissy Akina's turning when there might be trouble in the marriage. Suddenly wary that her sister-in-law is just feeding her lines she knows Kissy wants to hear in order to get Kissy to help her with whatever's going on with Zen, Kissy doesn't really know what to say in response. After several seconds with Akina wringing her hands and intently watching her, Kissy suggests, "Let's go to my flat. It will be more comfortable for Kasuki while we talk."
Akina, looking both grateful and relieved, nods and steps back into the hallway as Kissy locks her office and leads the way.
Return
Author: Carys
Date: 10-22-10 18:06
Since Michaelmas Term began, Carys had yet to step foot into the offices of Emrys Everyday. Her manager had told her to take as long as she needed to recuperate from the ordeal that had happened in the dark room and that when she felt ready to return, her job would be waiting for her.
Carys had appreciated the offer but had given it little thought in the interim. Instead, she'd focused on her new classes––more of the sort to complete the education she would have gotten at Hogwarts, had she not left at the end of her fifth year––and she concentrated on her therapy sessions.
What had once been dreaded visits now felt welcomed. Carys had grown very comfortable talking about various issues with her therapist and had come to recognize that sometimes sharing with someone other than a friend or family member was a good thing. Amoret could listen impartially and was trained to help.
Not that friends and family couldn't give good advice, of course. In recent weeks, Carys had started seeing her old friends more regularly. It was almost like old times again, except that they were grown ups now and lived very different lives. Despite their differences and how much or little each one had changed since Hogwarts, it wasn't hard to fall back into old habits. The four friends went to each other for advice as simple as whether a new set of robes looked good on the person or not to the more complicated questions of their love lives.
Not that Carys had a love life right now. The only men in her life were Griffin, Tristan, and Alun. She sometimes wondered what Griff thought about her. Did he wish for something more between them? If he did, he never indicated it, though maybe she was just oblivious to his thoughts.
She liked him. He was a good father to Tristan and he treated her grandfather wonderfully. And she couldn't begin to recount all of the things he'd done for her. If it weren't for him, then maybe she would have died at Goen Bren. She owed him her life.
Carys realized she'd been off in lala land in the middle of the corridor. Then she realized where exactly she was standing, right outside the office door of Emrys Everyday. She sucked in a deep breath. Maybe now was the time to overcome her fear and take back the job that waited for her.
Her feet felt like they were attached to the floor, but then she squared her shoulders and marched forward. Carys pushed open the door and stepped inside, looking around as she went. She greeted a few faces she recognized but continued walking until she stood right outside the dark room door. She hadn't been inside that room since the attempted rape. Carys steeled herself and opened the door.
It looked just as she'd left it, and though she feared the memories of that last day would overwhelm her, they didn't. She saw only her work and wondered why no one had taken her pictures down. Surely the room had been used since her last visit?
She moved forward and carefully removed her pictures. They'd been for a project for a photography class and had never gotten submitted. Carys tucked them away into a folder and then stared up at the empty line. It was time to take new pictures, to develop them, and see them printed in the newspaper.
Decision made, she turned and left the dark room. Carys went straight to her manager's office to officially return back to work.