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(Mark) Hallway Conversation
Author: Isolde
Date: 11-27-10 09:37
As soon as Professor Black dismissed his fourth year Transfiguration students, Mark sped from the classroom and down the staircases for the Slytherin common room in the dungeons. He had a thirty minute window between Transfiguration and Fitness & Athletics, which was more time than between other back-to-back classes, but which often passed by more quickly than he realized with all he tried to accomplish during that time.
He was in such a hurry to reach his dorm room, that he passed straight through the Bloody Baron as the Slytherin ghost drifted between walls in the dungeon corridor. The feeling of ice assailing his body slowed Mark down long enough for him to get caught by Kate Dewhurst, as she made her way from Potions to wherever she had to be next.
She was alone in the hall, the others in her class having left promptly at the end while she'd stayed behind to ask Professor Weasley a question. Kate had started to walk straight past Mark without giving him more than a second glance, but at the last second she stopped next to him.
"Sorry you didn't play on Saturday," she said, referring to the Quidditch match in Sydney over the weekend. Gus had gotten his chance to shine during the first IQT match, but Mark had never entered the game at all.
It was a sore spot with him, that Gus had played and he, who had much more experience in Quidditch matches, hadn't, but for the most part Mark had tried to forget about Saturday altogether.
He knew that Kate wasn't making fun of him, but Mark still couldn't help but feel a bit offended that she'd brought it up at all. He started to snap at her but at the last minute shrugged and said, "At least we won."
"Yeah," Kate replied. "There is that."
She indicated to the end of the hall with her head. "Need to stop by my room and drop off this stuff," she said, referring to the books in her arms. "See you at F&A."
Despite the fact that they were in different years, they did have one class together, Fitness & Athletics. She hurried off before he could say anything, and when he remembered he needed to do the same exact thing, he continued on to the Slytherin portal, where he gave this week's password, parapet.
A Quiet Place
Author: Abdul Hazrat AlGunud
Date: 11-27-10 18:47
The clearing was circular in shape. If one were to make a closer inspection, it would become obvious that shape was not natural. The trees along the perimeter were spaced at precise intervals. Similarly, the pond at the north end of the clearing was in the shape of a perfect circle. The sides were comprised of a smooth, lusterless stone which curved away from the edges to form a concave bottom in the very center of the pond. Water was fed into the pond from small holes cut into the stone at regular intervals along the edge. In contrast, the stone block at the center of the clearing had four sides. The sides were smooth and the block, carved of black onyx, was in the shape of a rectangular prism. The top of the stone block was slightly convex, with a small channel carved around the perimeter. The channel was connected at each corner by small basins cut into the stone. Less apparent was the silence. No buzzing of insects or calling of birds penetrated the stillness.
None of these facts appeared to be of interest to the three figures who stood near the pond. All wore hooded cloaks, so that their facial features were concealed. The one nearest the pond stood twelve feet tall and carried a heavy, brutal-looking mace forged of some dark metal in one green-skinned fist. The second stood eight feet tall and bore no visible weapon, but scarlet scales underneath the cloak hinted at the presence of armor. Both towered over the third figure, who carried neither a weapon nor wore any visible armor.
“Are you positive that none at the school know of this place?”
“The students only enter the forest on supervised field trips. The last was to see a unicorn. Neither Professors Kent nor Dumbledore have ever shown any knowledge of this place.”
“That is not the same thing as saying that no one at Hogwart’s is aware of this place.”
“My Lord, if any did know then it would most likely be those two. In knowing of this place, they would probably discern its purpose. That would assure that they would keep watch over it. To date, they have not done so.”
“I dislike your reasoning in this matter Chang.”
“I am sorry My Lord, but my source cannot provide positive proof in this matter. The only one who might truly have knowledge of this place is the groundskeeper Hagrid. That one has roamed through the forest extensively. Even the centaurs do not come this part of the forest.”
“Have your source keep watch over this Hagrid. If it appears that he knows of this grove or is preparing to visit this part of the forest, I want to be informed immediately.”
“Aye My Lord, it shall be done. But be warned that my source may not be able to watch Hagrid closely.”
“Perhaps then, Hagrid needs to suffer a fatal accident.”
“It should be done in the forest My Lord. An accident at Hogwarts would be too difficult to arrange and too easily detected as a fraud.”
“Excellent, in that case Barog can assist you.”
The figure bearing the mace shifted slightly upon hearing his name but otherwise remained silent.
“As you wish My Lord, but I do not think it necessary to--”
“Do not try my patience Chang. This close to the Solstice I will not risk any interruption of the ceremony. Now attend to this Hagrid. I must go and gather some components for the ritual.”
With that statement, the third figure vanished from the clearing in a brief flash of light. The other two stared briefly at the now empty spot and then proceeded out of the clearing on foot. With their leaving, the clearing became silent and still once again.
Going Home
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 11-28-10 14:10
Hermione buttoned up her coat and then gave her flat a cursory glance from just within the front door. She had been busy sorting through all of her possessions in anticipation of moving in with Ron in the spring. Although she rarely kept anything she knew she would never need but once, Hermione considered most things worthy of keeping for some future use.
As a result, her "toss" pile had been rather small so far. Hermione knew that if she gave Ron the opportunity to sort through her possessions, however, he would throw out quite a lot, including her precious books. Ron never could understand why she kept them all, even the ones from when they had been first years at Hogwarts.
For the present, Hermione decided to take a break and make a much needed visit home. It had been years since she'd last stepped foot in her hometown. She didn't know why so much time had passed since her last visit; only that it had.
She apparated to a small park just outside the neighborhood where she'd grown up. The tall hedges that had always been there thankfully still were and shielded her abrupt arrival from the mother playing with her small child on the swingset.
Hermione immediately pulled a pair of mittens out of a small bag she carried over her shoulder. A scarf soon followed. Once she felt like she was dressed warm enough for the chilly weather, she set off down the street.
She wasn't very far from the house in which she'd once lived. For a moment, she considered going there and knocking on the door. If the current owners were nice, maybe they would let her go up and see her old bedroom.
Instead, Hermione walked to town, passing by the dentistry where her parents had once practiced. She walked by many familiar establishments, as well as new ones that had popped up in her absence. For the most part, everything looked the same though.
Eventually, Hermione came upon a wrought iron fence set upon a low stone wall. Icicles hung from the ornate metal. Through the gaps, Hermione could see headstone after headstone. Many had a fresh layer of snow on them.
When she reached the gate, she opened it and stepped into the graveyard. The gate had always been in need of oiling, and even that hadn't changed over the years. It creaked loudly open and shut, but it seemed that nobody but Hermione was around to hear it.
She walked up the main path, passing exactly four rows of graves before she turned right down an offshoot of the path. Her feet left deep footprints in the newly fallen snow. Hermione was glad she'd thought to pull on boots before leaving her flat. If she hadn't, her socks would definitely be soaked through right now.
She slowed her walk when she came upon the grave of her grandparents. Hermione stopped completely at the next one, that of her parents. Sometimes it was hard to believe that her mother had been dead for seven years now. She could still remember receiving the news at the Burrow as if it had happened yesterday.
Her father had been gone three years already. Sometimes Hermione wished that he'd gone with his wife rather than later under such terrible circumstances. Of course, more than anything she wished that Bellatrix Lestrange had never found them.
If they still lived, then they would go to her wedding. She would walk down the aisle on her father's arm. Her mum would probably help her choose a wedding dress.
Hermione crossed to the headstone and brushed off the snow. Normally, she might kneel before it and talk to her parents, but with the ground wet and cold, she thought they probably wouldn't mind if she perched on their headstone itself. She did just that and wondered what life might be like if they'd never been killed.
(Kate) We Meet Again
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 11-28-10 14:45
As much as Kate tried to concentrate in History of Magic, she found it nearly impossible. As usual, Professor Binns droned on and on, this time about the witch Cliodne and whatever it was she'd done to make herself a figure from wizarding history. It didn't help that it was morning, Kate's first class of the day, or that it was positively dreary outside. It wasn't snowing at the moment, but the sky was thick, gray and totally uninspiring.
Kate stared out the window and tried to stay awake, but nothing out there or in the classroom engaged her attention in the slightest. Just when she felt her eyes fall shut, a loud thump startled her awake. She sat up straight and looked around, only to discover that the person next to her, Wilhelmina Kluck, had just passed out on her desk and accidentally knocked her textbook onto the floor with her elbow.
Kate turned to the front of the classroom and saw that Professor Binns hadn't even noticed. He continued to lecture about Cliodne, but only a few minutes more. By some miracle class ended and Kate could leave for the library. Her next class wasn't until after lunch.
She stumbled out into the hall without her friends to keep her company. Gus, Johanna and Felicia all had Herbology this morning, but she would see them in Charms later.
Still feeling a bit sluggish, she moved slowly to her next destination. Kate almost changed her mind about going to the library and thought about going to her room for a nap instead, but the fact that she had homework due in Charms won out over her desire to rest.
Kate turned the corner in the hall and found herself face to face with Mark. Yesterday, he had been quite cordial with her. Usually he was abrupt or he just didn't say anything at all. Perhaps it had helped that they'd been alone instead of in the company of the others.
"Hi," Kate mumbled, as she moved out of his way.
Mark made no immediate move to continue to the same classroom Kate had just deserted. Like most students, he wasn't all that fond of History of Magic.
"What's the matter with you?" he asked.
Kate paused to consider the question. Was he implying there was something wrong with her, or was he just asking a simple question?
"Just got out of Professor Binns's class. He's such a bore."
The corners of Mark's lips curved into a smile. "I didn't expect you to say something like that about one of your professors."
"Well, it's true," Kate said, stifling a yawn with her hand.
"I know it is," Mark replied. "Where are you headed now?"
"The library."
Mark hesitated. "I really want to cut class."
"You shouldn't," Kate said, with a small shake of her head. "If you get caught, you'll get detention, and depending on how that goes, you might not be able to go to Brazil."
"What would you care if I did or didn't?" Mark asked.
Kate turned away and felt herself blushing. She didn't care, did she?
"I just know that you didn't get your chance in Australia. It would be a shame if you couldn't play in Brazil too."
Mark said nothing for a long moment and then quietly said, "Yeah." He turned and started walking away from Kate, but after a few steps, he paused and looked over his shoulder. But where she'd just been, no one now stood.
Horsetail
Author: Marzipan
Date: 11-29-10 10:49
"I am so very sorry to keep you all waiting," Professor Ravenscroft exclaimed after she stepped into Greenhouse One and moved to the front of the building. She shed her cloak and draped it unceremoniously on the back of a wooden chair tucked in the corner of the greenhouse.
She'd just come from the quarters she shared with Weston, who was currently at work at the Ministry of Magic. She'd fed Carter and then tried putting him down for a nap. Although tired, the baby had fought to fall asleep and had still been fitfully awake by the time a house-elf had come to relieve Marzi so that she could teach her afternoon class.
Caring for one baby had proved more difficult that either Weston or Marzi had anticipated. Neither knew what would happen once their own baby arrived in the spring.
"Five points from... Professor, which house were you in when you went to Hogwarts?" asked Bart Kimple.
Marzi grinned. "Very funny, Bartholomew. And as for your question, didn't you know that I didn't attend Hogwarts myself? I went to Sydney's School of Wizardry. My father taught Ancient Runes there for a long time."
"Oh! So are you upset that your school lost against Hogwarts?" he asked.
Marzi shook her head. "Not really," she replied. "My allegiance is to Hogwarts now."
She flicked her wand at a high shelf against one wall of the greenhouse and summoned a few pots to the table around which her first year Ravenclaw and Slytherin students sat.
"Now," she said, changing the subject to the topic of today's class lecture, "who can tell me what these plants are?"
When no one immediately answered, Professor Ravenscroft said, "These are horsetails. The scientific name is Equisetum. Equisetum is the only living genus in the Equisetaceae family. All other genera in the family have been extinct for a very long time."
Each plant looked slightly different. One had several stalks that were a vivid green with black stripes at every segment. The stalks ended in whorls that looked not unlike a wire brush used to clean dirty dishes. Another consisted of a solid green stalk with a brown tip. Others still looked like miniature bamboo trunks or stalks of grain.
Professor Ravenscroft continued to talk about the plant until it was time to work on the in-class assignment for the day, to harvest the horsetail stems. It wasn't a difficult assignment but an important one, since horsetail had many uses.
She went around the greenhouse, offering assistance where needed, but for the most part her first years seemed fully capable of handling the assignment without her help.
With only a few minutes left in class, Professor Ravenscroft had everyone collect their stems and place them in a basket at the end of the table. While they did that, she announced their homework assignment.
"Last time we talked about scurvy-grass. I want you all to sketch and label parts of the plant. The assignment will be due on Tuesday at the start of class."
No sooner was the basket of horsetail stems full, that her students collected their things and prepared to be dismissed from class. Normally, Marzi grew rather annoyed when her students gathered their things before class officially ended. She let them go this time without issue, however, since she was in a hurry herself to get back to her quarters and see if Carter had ever fallen asleep.
Her class fled the greenhouse, leaving tracks in the snow all the way up to the castle. Marzi took only a moment to tidy the greenhouse before she put her cloak back on and followed them. To her relief, Carter was sound asleep when she got back to her quarters.
Confession
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 11-29-10 11:53
"Okay, that's enough for now," Professor Somerset told his second years, who had just been practicing casting repello on each other and some objects around the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. "For homework, I want you to look up what repelling spells have to do with Quidditch before the introduction of the golden snitch. See you next week."
His students scrambled to get their belongings together. It always seemed to be a race, who could leave the classroom first.
Ethan, meanwhile, turned and started to wipe the blackboard clean. He didn't have another class this afternoon, and he didn't have any scheduled office hours either. He'd thought that he might go into Hogsmeade and do some Christmas shopping. Perhaps he'd even go to Diagon Alley. If he went to London, then he'd probably go into the Muggle world to find some gifts for his family.
After dealing with the blackboard, Ethan summoned all of the repelled items that were scattered around the room and then prepared to leave. He got as far as a step towards the door when a small boy appeared in the doorway.
"Penn?" Ethan asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Sir, I know you don't have office hours today, but I was hoping you would have a few minutes to talk."
Ethan nodded. "Sure."
Penn stepped fully into the room and sat at a desk in the front row, just opposite from Ethan's desk. Ethan sat down on the edge of his and asked, "What's on your mind?"
Penn looked down at his hands, which were clasped together on top of the desk.
Ethan started to get the feeling that Penn hadn't come to ask about an assignment or something they'd discussed in class.
When Penn finally looked up again, he didn't show his normal, expressionless features. There was something in his face Ethan couldn't quite describe.
"I have a confession to make," Penn finally said, his voice no louder than a whisper.
"What is it, Penn?" Ethan asked, just as softly.
A look of anguish passed across Penn's face. "It was me who hurt you, that day at the dueling club meeting. I hadn't meant to do it. Didn't even know what I'd done. It just happened, and then I realized that it had probably been me. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to get in trouble. I was afraid, Professor. I was afraid, and I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I'm sorry I hurt you."
Just what Ethan had been expecting, he didn't know, but it definitely wasn't this. Penn's confession took him by so much surprise that he didn't even know what to say.
"I know I should have confessed sooner," Penn went on, "but I couldn't bring myself to do it. As for why I'm doing it now..." He gulped, and when his eyes met Ethan's, there were tears in them. "I just feel so guilty, and with each passing day it gets worse. Professor, you're my favorite teacher. The last thing I'd want to do is disappoint you."
And Ethan had been so sure that Penn didn't like him. In the beginning, he hadn't had a clue as to why that might be. Knowing Meadow O'Guinn was his aunt had made things more clear, though. Perhaps she had instructed her young nephew to give his DADA professor a hard time.
But now, Ethan wasn't so sure.
"What exactly did you do to cause my injury to happen?" Ethan asked, when he finally found his voice again.
"I don't know," Penn said. "I just waved my wand, and it happened."
"Are you sure? Are you sure you weren't thinking of some spell?"
"I think I probably was. We were practicing something, weren't we? I can't explain what happened, only that something did. I'm sorry, Professor, I really am."
The sincerity in the boy's face and voice suggested to Ethan that he wasn't lying, that, in fact, he'd had no idea what had happened during the dueling club meeting.
Ethan chose to believe him.
"Penn, how long have you been able to do magic without verbally giving the incantation?"
"Since I got my new wand," Penn said with a shrug.
"That's very difficult magic and most first years can't achieve it. Many older students can't either."
"Is it bad that I can?" Penn asked.
"No, only curious," Ethan replied. "You're very bright, you know. You're good at everything we practice in class. It's almost like you've done it all before."
For a brief moment, a strange look crossed his face, but then the same expression of innocence he'd worn since giving his confession to Ethan returned. "I guess I'm a fast learner," Penn said.
"So, are you mad at me?"
Ethan shook his head. "No, and I'm glad you came forward. You won't get in trouble, since it was an accident. I think you need to be careful when you practice magic, and it would probably be a good idea if you stated the incantations for now. The whole point of being a new wizard is learning how to pronounce them correctly. I realize it's probably too elementary for you, but I think you still need to do it that way. There will be opportunity yet to show off your skills."
Penn nodded slowly, and then a smile crossed his face. "Thank you, Professor."
Ethan smiled too. "You're welcome."
Penn got up from his chair. "I guess that's all I wanted to say."
"Then I'll see you later," Ethan said.
Penn nodded. "Bye, Professor."
He walked across the room and slipped out into the hall. Ethan got up and shook his head. Maybe Penn wasn't so bad after all.