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Phoenix
Author: Illyria 
Date:   11-12-10 20:26

Illyria stood on the landing of the observation deck and watched as the snow slowly drifted down from the night sky. She had originally planned on holding class there and having her second years view the constellation Phoenix through the school's telescopes. Visibility was so poor, however, that Illyria now planned on holding class indoors.

Since she hadn't gotten to tell her students about the change, she stood at the top of the stairwell and directed everyone who came up to go to her classroom. After sufficient time for everyone to get the message, Illyria left a note on the wall for those she hadn't talked to and then went to the warmth of her classroom.

It wasn't a full class, since a handful of her second years were on the Quidditch team this year and were on their way or perhaps already in Sydney for Saturday's first IQT match. Illyria knew that the school's magical RV was much faster than ordinary Muggle transportation, but she wasn't quite sure how fast it really was.

At any rate, her students missing class today and tomorrow would get a chance to make up the assignment they missed with a week's extension.

At her desk, Illyria slipped off the warm coat she'd been wearing and pulled off the earmuffs that had been keeping her ears warm. She smoothed down her hair and took attendance before launching into tonight's lecture.

"Tonight we will discuss the constellation called Phoenix. You are all too young to take Care of Magical Creatures this year, but can anybody tell me what a phoenix is?"

Kida Young raised her hand. "It's a bird," she said, "but not an ordinary one. It bursts into flames every once in a while until it is nothing but ashes. Then it reappears as a chick until it matures into an adult bird again. This process repeats itself over and over again."

"Very good. Five points to Slytherin," Illyria said.

"Now take a look at this," she went on, using her wand to illuminate a constellation on the ceiling. "This is the constellation known as Phoenix. It was created in the 1500s by a man named Petrus Plancius. Petrus Plancius was a Dutch astronomer and cartographer."

"Was he a wizard?" asked Hera Roberts.

Professor Jones shook her head. "He was a Muggle, but his discoveries are none the less important to the wizarding world as much as they are to the Muggle world."

Illyria used her wand like a laser pointer and indicated one of the stars in the constellations. "This is Alpha Phoenicis. What is significant about it?"

Sarah Edwards said, "It's the brightest star in the constellation, isn't it?"

"That's correct. It's also known as Ankaa, which is Arabic for the phoenix. Ankaa formed part of a Medieval Arabic constellation that was in the shape of a boat."

Illyria indicated the older constellation on and around Phoenix, which indeed looked something like a boat.

"Phoenix is also related to a meteor shower called the Phoenicids. The Phoenicids are so called because their radiant, that is their apparent point of origin, comes from Phoenix. The Phoenicids are active between the 29th of November and the 9th of December and are best seen from the Southern Hemisphere. It's almost too bad the Quidditch match in Australia is this weekend and not in a couple of weeks. We would have the best chance of seeing the meteor shower there than we would here."

Illyria went on to talk about Phoenix some more and then had her students begin on their homework assignment, to chart Phoenix's location in the night sky.

Zombie
Author: Sage Porter 
Date:   11-13-10 08:57

Yawning hugely Sage enters Orange, moving more on automatic than being truly consciously aware. A few minutes later he's sitting down at a table already occupied by friends. In between yawns he greets them then blinks down at his breakfast, nnot really sure what it is he got to eat. Judith Thomas returns his hello. "Morning, Sage. What's with the zombie shuffle?"

Blinking groggily, Sage looks up from the waffle that he was staring at almost as if he'd never seen a waffle before. His brain is slow to process what Judith has said so there's a delay before he replies, "Didn't get much sleep. Had a pile of work to do, including studying for three exams, and then when I finally go to bed, I couldn't sleep."

Jordie Lynam winks. "Sure. Studying and unable to sleep."

"My girlfriend is at Hogwarts."

"And you're at Hogwarts a lot. I wish my sister and brother-in-law worked at a boarding school where girls are locked away, getting tired of seeing the same male classmates day in and day out."

Judith bats Jordie's arm. "Your sister is three years old. A little young to be married off with a job that provides you access to other underage girls."

Jordie unapologetically shrugs. "What can I say? I'm a product of an all boys school located smack in the middle of nowhere. Say, what's the difference between a zombie and an inferi?"

Sage shakes his head at he cuts a bite of his waffle. "Not sure. Zombie's more of a Muggle term."

Jordie thinks about that for a second then says, "In most Muggle zombie stories the zombies eat living flesh. Do inferi eat people?"

Judith crinkles her nose in disgust and asks a question of her own. "Do you think Muggle zombies are really just Wizarding inferi and any differences between the two are because as the Muggle stories got retold, details got changed or added or something?"

Sage says, "Yeah, could be," as Jordie says, "That's probably close to the mark, Judith."

Sage starts to say something else but then his eyes land on a large clock on the wall. He jumps up with an exclamation of, "Hell! I'm going to be late for one of those exams if I don't run!"

"I'll take care of your tray," Judith offers.

"Thanks!" Sage says, already moving towards the exit.

(Mark) Sydney, Australia
Author: Isolde 
Date:   11-13-10 15:18

Mark willed himself to sleep, but it was difficult because he wasn't in any way used to the time change yet. Yesterday (or had that been today Australia-time?), upon leaving Hogwarts on the magical RV, he'd tried to close his eyes for a nap after supper but had found himself too keyed up about the trip to have any success at sleeping. In the end, Coach Batuti had given him a draught to help him sleep.

It did the trick for a little while. Mark woke up a few hours later, when the sky was dawning rather than growing darker as it would have been, had he stayed behind in Scotland. Not too long thereafter, the RV dipped out of the golden sky and landed not too far away from a red brick building with five towers, four at each corner and one standing alone in a courtyard.

Upon landing, Professor Batuti stepped out of the RV to greet the headmaster of Sydney's School of Wizardry, Mercutio McMasters. Professor McGonagall, Viktor Krum and Mr. Valentine, meanwhile, went around and woke up everyone who was still sleeping. Mark had been a awake for a little while by then, but he nonetheless felt a bit groggy still.

By the time all of the students filed off of the bus, the Flying & Quidditch instructor, Zacharias Moore, had joined his headmaster outside the RV. Headmaster McMasters and Coach Moore then led the Hogwarts retinue to the cafeteria for a special brunch with the host team. This had taken place in the school cafeteria, which looked both similar to and different from the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

While Mark ate, and he'd found himself to be ravenously hungry, he sized up the other team. But without seeing them play, there really was little by which to judge them. After brunch, the Hogwarts team got a tour of the school. Just like the cafeteria at Sydney's and the Great Hall at Hogwarts shared similarities and differences, so did the rest of the school. Sydney's had a much more modern feel to it, though it was by no means a new school. It had just as rich a history as Hogwarts did.

Sometime later, the Hogwarts team got the chance to practice on the Pitch at Sydney's School of Wizardry. During that point in time, Mark felt the most awake. The weather was mild and quite pleasant, compared to that which he'd left behind at Hogwarts. The air felt springtime fresh and was just what everybody needed to feel reenergized.

After a few hours of hard practice, the team disbanded to shower and change clothes and then they met in the cafeteria again with the entire student body of Sydney's School of Wizardry. Unlike Hogwarts, Sydney's had only two houses, and students were selected into them (Red & Blue) totally randomly.

After supper, Mark walked around campus for a while with Gus and a few Australian girls who had taken a liking to him. It seemed that it wasn't just the girls at Hogwarts who thought Gus looked handsome.

By the time the boys reached the RV before curfew, Gus had a pocket full of parchment scraps with the names of some of the girls and their addresses, so that he could write to them as they hoped he would.

Busy Days
Author: Oreileah McCoi 
Date:   11-13-10 15:40

Thursdays were kind of hectic for both Jim and I. I had Advanced Charms, Arithmancy II, and Government I. Jim on the other hand had Introduction to Homiostasis and Introduction to Cell Biology. I also had a shift to work at the Ministry. I worked from eight am until four in the afternoon. Then it was straight to St. Emry's until ten and then finally home. Jim on the other hand, had class in the morning and then worked until seven thirty as a waiter at a quaint little restaraunt in Wizarding London.

Right now, I was sitting in Advanced Charms, attempting to stay awake, it was only my first class I still had two more to sit through tonight. Really. I didn't have an exam in Advanced Charms, but I was trying to focus on the lecture, taking notes, was near impossible. I needed a pepper-up potion, seriously. I only hoped that Jim had dinner waiting for me when I got home. I'd grab a pepper-up before I headed to Arithmancy II, where I had an exam. It was the only exam I had tonight, so I'd have to be consicous for it. I, however, did not think that I would be able to make it through Government I.

Once Charms was done, I walked into Orange, I felt like a zombie, but I think I will definitely be skipping government tonight because I know I won't be able to stay awake. As it is, I know using the Floo would probably be a bad idea when I went home, so apparation it will be. I headed over to grab something to wake me up for my exam in Government.

(Kate) Best Behavior
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst 
Date:   11-14-10 10:27

Even though twenty-eight students and a couple of teachers had left for Australia yesterday afternoon, the large student body at Hogwarts prevented the school from appearing emptier than usual. Still, their absences were felt among those who knew some of the players either as friends or just classmates. In Kate's year alone, five students were currently abroad, including her good friend Gus.

Kate had been on her best behavior all week long and would continue to do so through late Friday night or early Saturday morning, when those eligible to travel to Australia would begin the journey overseas. She wasn't the sort to normally earn detention from her teachers, but she was still extra careful not to draw the attention of teachers like Snape, who sometimes seemed to hand out detention just because he felt like it.

Kate wanted to visit a different school of magic very badly. Hogwarts was the only one she'd ever known, unless one counted Happy Haven, which she absolutely did not since it hadn't been a real school anyway. She wasn't sure if she'd get to see more than the Pitch, but she hoped that she would get the chance to see a bit more of the school before having to return home to Hogwarts.

She was, of course, excited about the match. She hoped that Hogwarts would win. She knew that Gus would be tickled pink about winning his very first Quidditch match. She supposed that Mark would be pleased as well, but he'd played in winning matches before, though, Kate supposed, this time would be a bit different since he would be playing against another school rather than another Hogwarts house.

While she thought about Saturday, Kate walked from the Hufflepuff common room to Charms class. Professor Croghan had been teaching them cheering charms lately, and Kate felt like she had finally mastered the spell. She had heard rumor that he might test their skills today. Of course, it was only a rumor, and with some students absent on account of being in Australia, perhaps it wasn't even true.

It being early afternoon in Scotland meant that it was nighttime in Australia. The Quidditch players were probably all sound asleep, not even thinking about the classes they were missing back at Hogwarts. In a way, Kate envied them.

She reached Professor Croghan's classroom and slipped inside, where she went to her desk, placed her wand, textbook, quill, and parchment on it, and sat still while she waited for her teacher to begin lecturing further on cheering charms.

Stalling Tactics
Author: Briar Rose 
Date:   11-14-10 12:12

Standing at the bottom of the inside stairs leading up to the first floor above the bakery Briar calls up, "Grace, time to go."

When there's no reply of any kind nor any sound of her child coming to the stairs, Briar calls up again, "Grace! Time to go!"

She waits a few more seconds before saying, "Molly Grace Rose Valentine, get down here now!"

Briar can hear Aegean's urgent low tones, "Grace had better go or Briar will punish her."

Grace says something in reply but Briar can't make out the muffled words, but she can well imagine what they might be. She also can't make out Aegean's response. Whatever it was is followed by the sounds of the house elf trying to physically urge Grace towards the steps. Briar helps matters along. "Grace, if you don't get down here on your own accord right now, you are NOT going to the Quidditch match in Australia tomorrow night."

There's a short burst of running feet then Grace appears at the top of the stairs. "Tomorrow night? Daddy said Caerwyn's match is Saturday."

"Saturday in Sydney where Caerwyn and Daddy are is tomorrow night here. Very late tomorrow night. So late that it will be extremely early Saturday morning here."

"Are you trying to confuse me, Mummy?" Grace asks, planting hand on jutting hip, doing that one eyebrow quirked up expression she loves to give her parents.

"No, Grace, I'm trying to get us to the pediatric healer."

"Muuuuuuuuum. Do I haaaaaaave to go?"

"Yes, it's check-up time. Besides that, you've had a very bad cough the past few nights." Briar jerks her head, "Come on, let's get going."

Grace stumps down the stairs, a mutinous look on her face. "Daddy wouldn't make me go."

"Daddy would not only make you go, he'd offer to take you himself. He thinks Dr. Karin is very cute."

"Dr. Karin has a funny last name."

"Yes, I am aware of that just as I am aware you are stalling."

Grace's expression changes to a pouty one. "I love you, Mummy."

"I love you too. I love you so much that I'm taking you to see Dr. Karin so she can make sure you're healthy."

Grace heaves a sigh. "That worked for Charlotte and sometimes it works on Daddy.""

Briar hides a smile, holding Grace's coat out to her. They're flooing straight to the building where Karin Belch and others have their practices but for some reason the halls in that building are always cold and Karin's waiting area never seems that much warmer. It takes another minute for Grace to get her coat on and the two of them at the floo with Briar holding floo powder in one hand and tightly hanging onto Grace with the other, nodding in response to another of Grace's stalling tactics. "Yes, Grace, I'll show you where Sydney is on a map... AFTER we get back from Dr. Karin's."

Without further ado, Briar flings the floo powder into the fireplace at the front part of the bakery, calling out their destination clearly and distinctly.

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