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Contemplation
Author: Desdemona Diamond
Date: 12-07-10 18:44
I was sitting at my desk looking at the case file in front of me. The case itself was closed, but only officially. I still had a feeling about it that I couldn’t shake. There was something personal about the case, but, it wasn’t at the same time.
The barn where the dark wizards were hiding is what was bothering me. The entrance to the hideout was in the floor of an old rickety barn, in the last animal stall. It was right where she… where I had run to.
Something about it was wrong. I shouldn’t have led myself like that. Or talked to myself like she and I had done. I had searched the barn after the dark wizards were removed but I couldn’t find anything. I had never been there before that day, and never had seen the place until that day.
So, why did my younger self go there of all places? What did she mean by this was different but the same? The most I could figure was that she had led me there, because of the case, but, why her? And why was it so cold?
I sighed. I really hate riddles.
(Anthony) Going to Lunch
Author: Beck
Date: 12-07-10 19:06
"I was thinking about heading to the canteen for some lunch," Anthony told Desi, when he passed by her desk on the way out of the office. "Want me to bring back anything for you?"
Desi, who had been in deep contemplation, looked up and said, "Actually, I think I might join you, unless you'd rather eat alone?"
Anthony shook his head. "I don't mind at all."
"Great. 'Cause I was going to go with you no matter your answer," she quipped, rising from her chair. She grinned impishly.
Anthony laughed. He waved for her to fall into step beside him, and then the two walked out of the office and headed for the lifts. One was waiting for them when they arrived. They stepped through the open grille and turned to face forward, while the lift moved from Level 2 to the Atrium.
Both were rather quiet during the ride.
Before the lift reached the Atrium, Anthony turned to Desi and asked, "Are you all right? You looked a bit pensive earlier, and I couldn't tell if it was something to do with a case or something else entirely."
Desi shrugged. "A bit of both, I guess. Anyway," she said, changing the subject, "How's your case going? The one about the mass grave, I mean?"
"It's been slow and steady progress," Anthony replied. He told her about his investigation of Sylvester Gudgeon. His interviews with some of the other employees at Magical Movers had painted an interesting portrait of the wizard alleged to be a member of the group responsible for the annual mass murders.
Anthony next wanted to search Gudgeon's home, but he wasn't sure how he could legally do it. In the meantime, he'd spent hours following Sylvester around in the hopes that he might go somewhere that would prove he was who Enid Eastwick said he was.
"How come none of that was investigated back when it was mentioned in Eastwick's trial?" Desi asked, puzzled. They stepped off the lift and headed in the direction of the cafeteria.
"I have no idea. I guess it just fell through the cracks," Anthony said. "I'm trying to find out if the court mention alone is enough for me to get a search warrant. It would definitely speed up the investigation, I think."
"Well, if you need somebody to help with buttkicking..." Desi said, grinning again.
"I'll know who to ask," Anthony replied with a smile. He gestured for her to enter the cafeteria first and then followed her to the buffet line. From then on, the talk switched from work to personal matters, like the Christmas tree Plum and Alex had gotten over the weekend and Desi's wish that everyone, the Diamonds, Dewhursts and Becks would celebrate Christmas together.
Palm Reading
Author: Nathaniel Ross
Date: 12-08-10 15:32
Sat in the Common Commons, Nate was working on some homework when Lilac showed up with a shy smile. He smiled back at her and patted the empty chair next to his, offering her a seat.
“What are you doing?” she asked with curiosity.
“Homework.” He replied.
Lilac picked up his Arithmancy& Divination book and started to flip the pages with interest. Nate stopped what he was doing and explained her what he was learning with Professor Saffron. It was Advanced Tasseography.
“It sounds extremely boring.” Lilac said after a while.
“I suppose Herbology is better huh?” Nate knew how much Lilac liked to take care of the magical plants and how she seemed to know everything about them. He was pretty sure she was going to accomplish her dream and became a great herbologist one day.
“Indeed it is.” Lilac told him.
Nate gave her a smile and ordered: “Give me your hand.” Lilac took her time but she ended up passing her delicate cold hand on his. Then with his finger Nate touched the lines on her hand palm carefully.
“What are you doing?” Lilac asked suspicious.
“Palm reading. I learned it last year.” He informed, telling her to be quiet, he was trying to focus. Nate revised what he learned and somewhat his knowledge was very vague. And so he decided to make up Lilac’s future.
“Hum…it says you are going to have a long fulfilled life. I can see success, and of course many many plants for you to take care of.”
“Silly!” She told knowing he was teasing her. They laughed together and before he let go of her hand Nate kissed its palm. She blushed a bit but ended up smiling. “I think I should tell Professor Saffron to fail you.” Lilac told in a conspiracy tone. “You can’t even do palm reading.”
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to fail. Then I would be closer to you.” He muttered. This time Lilac didn’t reply and she focused on a book that was on the table. Nate knew there was no way she would be interested on domestic spells since she knew how to them in perfection, but he did not bother her.
Instead he kept writing his essay for tomorrow. But he was having a hard time concentrating and he ended up spilling ink on the table. His robes got dirty as well.
He was getting ready to take his wand out of his pocket when Lilac told:
“Let me handle it.”
She cleaned his robes and the table with two flicks of her wand . Nate thanked her with a smile, thinking how a talented witch she was. He thought how unfair and hard it would have been when they took her wand from her and made her live at Happy Haven, under extreme conditions.
In silence he made a promise to himself of not letting Lilac be gone from his life ever again.
Expected Visit
Author: Jolyon
Date: 12-08-10 17:37
As Jolyon expected, his father eventually returned to inquire about the inheritance he'd received upon Charles Abbott's death. The meeting had happened only that morning, while Jolyon had been feeding the creatures penned in the stalls in the barn on the Hogwarts grounds.
He'd looked up when the door creaked open. Emanuel Kent had quickly slipped into the warmth of the barn, shutting out the cold as he closed the door behind him.
Jolyon turned back to the winged horse he was feeding and asked with a heavy sigh, "What do you want?"
"Is that anyway to address your father?"
Jolyon wanted to say, "But you're not really my father, are you?" But instead he asked, "I only ask because it seems the only time you ever come to visit is because you want something from me."
"Lies."
Jolyon set the bucket of feed down and looked at his dad. "So this is a social visit then?"
Emanuel looked down at the hay-strewn floor and said, "I want to do something nice for your mother."
When Jolyon didn't say anything, Emanuel went on, "More than anything, I'd like to take her on a trip for Christmas. She's always wanted to go on one of those Muggle cruises. I don't know if it's too late to book one, but if I can, I'd like to take her on a cruise of the Caribbean."
"I think she would like that."
"Yes, but," Emanuel began, clasping his hands together, "I recently tied up much of my money in special funds, and I'm afraid I haven't got enough coins to pay for such a trip. Considering the exchange rate, I'll need much more than I have..."
Jolyon tried to keep his cool. He'd known that his father wanted something from him, and that it more than likely was money, but at least it sounded like he was trying to do something nice for a change. Unless he was lying, which Emanuel did quite a lot.
"I don't have time to go to Gringotts today," Jolyon said. "We can meet in Diagon Alley tomorrow morning."
To Jolyon's surprise, Emanuel accepted the delay without any problem.
Now, many hours later and the middle of his lecture on erklings, Jolyon couldn't help but wonder if he was making a big mistake.
In The Office
Author: Kissy Isuki
Date: 12-09-10 19:14
"Kindly get your feet off my desk."
AJ frowns at Kissy then looks to his crossed feet from is slouced, leaned back position. "But this is comfortable."
Kissy gives him a pointed look before reaching over and picking up the top leg but the cuff of his slacks. "Hey!" AJ protests as Kissy shifts her hand over then lets AJ's leg go. He stays its descent but only after it's nearly to the floor.
Kissy asks sweetly, "Don't you have a book to write or research or something?"
"Always but pestering you is much more amusing at the moment."
Kissy rolls her eyes but says nothing. Instead she returns her attention back to grading homework papers. She also, without warning, very quickly shoves AJ's other leg off her desk, snickering lightly when it hits the floor with a resounding thud. AJ stays in that slouchy recline but doesn't shift his feet back to the desk. He asks, "Aren't you going to fill me in?"
Not looking up from the notation she's writing by one of Catherine Scott's answers, Kissy replies, "I don't know enough for any filling in to be done. Akina was convinced Zen has been cheating on her and trying to find out for sure, and sincerely apologetic for what they'd done to me but now she's acting as though she never came here that day and never had any suspicion about Zen."
"Do you think she was just having one of those pregnancy hormone moments when she showed up that day?"
"I have no idea but yes, I suppose that's a possible explanation. Another that with one small child and another on the way, she decided she'd rather go back to Zen and turn a blind eye to his cheating, if he has indeed been cheating."
"And her apology to you was what then?"
"Akina's mother is still very much a follower of Traditions."
"What's that got to do with it?"
"Maybe nothing but if Akina were looking to leave Zen, then she couldn't have gone to her mother for support. Traditions believes that marriage is binding until the death of a spouse."
"Doesn't it also believe that spouses are supposed to remain faithful to each other? No adultery?"
"Yes, and the group's tenents about that are vague to outsiders. I asked Akina about it those days she stayed with me but she wouldn't say much, only that if one spouse knew of adultery on the other's part, the spouse has a private conference with the Traditions inner circle. I took that to mean she doesn't know for sure herself what the group's approach is in such cases."
"I can't believe that group is still in operation, especially with Finnegan Fudge in prison. I bet that when he was released from Azkaban under Smythe-Jones's ministry, he never thought he'd be arrested in France under similar charges."
"I can't believe that with so many arrested since the group was founded that it's still in existance. At least my family hasn't been religiously attending functions like they once did. I'm hungry. Let's go get something."
AJ doesn't even blink at the abrupt change of topic. He shifts in his seat then pushes up. "Food sounds good. Here or want to go someplace?"
"I've sort of been craving sesame chicken and hot and sour soup."
"Chinese it is then."
Before leaving, AJ and Kissy ask around to see if any of their colleagues want to go for Chinese, then those going floo from the castle a short time later.
Working Hard
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 12-10-10 12:16
In the months since starting his job at Farnsworth & Wallingford, Ronan had rotated through all of the departments several times in a bid to learn what everyone did at the company and also to find his niche. His boss had hinted that if Ronan kept up the good work, he'd likely get promoted. Since Ronan was relying on his job to pay for his everyday expenses as well as his education, he looked forward to the increase in pay a promotion would bring.
If there was one job at Farnwall, as the receptionist Solange called the place, that Ronan had the most interest in, it was sales. He wasn't sure he did it very well yet, but he believed it beat sitting in the office all day crunching numbers or answering customer complaints.
Ronan had gone on several excursions with various members of the sales team. Each wizard had his own style, which gave Ronan a lot more material with which to work. Whenever he went out himself, he practiced the best of what he'd seen the others do, as long as it felt natural to him. He didn't want to mimic somebody and have it come out completely awkward.
Ronan also knew that to be a good saleswizard, he would have to come up with his own style too. Perhaps he already had one, and he didn't know it yet. At any rate, he was leaning towards sales above any other position in the company.
Ronan threw himself into his work, not only because he wanted to do well but because working hard gave him less opportunity to think about how Artemis had dumped him via owl post. He'd written her back after receiving the initial letter, stating his surprise but accepting what she decided if it was what she thought was best. He hadn't heard from her since.
He supposed that was one less person for whom he needed to find a Christmas gift. His list, as always, was rather short. He would buy something for Illyria and Urania, and perhaps the children in the Jones family. Ronan would also find something for his mother, though he knew that he could probably only get her certain things, since many items were considered contraband in prison.
He had heard from his mum that aurors were investigating Caden's murder, or more specifically, the series of murders associated with his death and with the group he had briefly led. Ronan had never found out who had killed his brother. He hoped the aurors would be able to identify his killer, if only so that Ronan and Enid could have closure.
Ronan glanced at the clock on the wall and decided to take a break. He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a textbook from one of his classes. Finals at St. Emrys were nearly upon him. He might as well use his fifteen minutes to get a little studying in.
Hardly Working
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 12-10-10 13:19
Lysander sat in the office at Twice Told Tales, ignoring the accounting paperwork he had in front of him. Normally, he didn't have a short attention span when it came to working on sales figures, but today he couldn't wrap his head around any of the numbers. All he wanted to do was pull up a chair by the window, watch the pretty snowfall, and daydream about nothing and everything.
Astrid had finally moved in with him. Although it had been at his invitation, Lysander felt a little bit strange about it now. He hadn't lived with anyone (other than Charlotte) since Chyler's death. The fact that Astrid looked so much like Chyler was a big reminder of that fact, but at least Lysander saw Astrid for who she was and didn't confuse her with his dead wife.
Charlotte loved the idea of having Astrid as her roommate. She looked at it not as Daddy's girlfriend moving in but as her friend living with them now. Astrid was someone with whom she could play dolls. Lysander played dolls with Charlotte when she asked him to, but even Charlotte recognized that Astrid could play dolls so much better than a boy could.
Having Astrid around did help Lysander tremendously, though. He'd always had a lot of support as a single dad, but even sometimes he had to juggle things in his life to make sure that Charlotte was well taken care of. Since Astrid still didn't have a job and only took courses sporatically at St. Emrys, she would be around much more and able to look after Charlotte when needed.
Not that Lysander regretted asking Astrid to move in with him. He really did want to move things forward in their relationship, and he missed every moment he wasn't with her. Seeing her everyday and every night was exactly what he wanted, but it was also a stark reminder of his loss of Chyler. Even after nearly eight years, he felt her death as if it had only just happened. He supposed it would never quite go away, and for that he felt a bit guilty. It wasn't Astrid fault that she would always be second in his heart after Chyler.
Realizing he wasn't getting any sort of work done, Lysander got up and walked onto the main floor. There were a few customers idling in the stacks, but otherwise the store was quiet. Dexter was passed out on a cushion on the checkout counter.
Lysander went up to the window, which displayed books on holiday cooking, and stared out at the falling snow.
Montpellier, France: Overdue Visit
Author: Carys
Date: 12-10-10 14:46
Every time she saw her father, which wasn't very often at all, Carys thought that he looked older. She suspected that being in prison aged a person much more than normal, since prisons were generally very depressing and stressful places. Her father's hair had grayed considerably, and was almost more gray than dark brown now. Even the stubble on his jaw was flecked with gray.
He sat opposite her in the visitation area at Le Trou, the wizarding prison in Montpellier, France. He wore plain white robes and a look of concern on his face.
"Are you sure you are all right?" he asked her.
She certainly looked all right, but he wanted to make sure.
Carys nodded. "I've recovered a lot. At first, I was really upset. I was reminded of... things." She'd never told her father everything that had happened at Goen Bren.
Carys shook her head before he could inquire what exactly she meant. "I just lost it, but I've been going to therapy and it's really been helping. I think I'm to the point where I can stop, but I don't really want to. Not yet, anyway."
"I don't like that I'm locked away and can't protect you when bad things happen," Jean said.
"It could have been worse," Carys reminded him, not wanting to bring up the fact that the only reason he was in prison was because he'd put himself there by his own bad actions.
Jean sighed and changed the subject. "You don't visit me enough."
"I know," Carys replied. Her last visit had been a year and a half ago, when she'd still been living in France. She hadn't come back to see Jean since moving back to Cardiff.
"Will you bring my grandson sometime?"
Carys nodded. "Sometime." At the mention of Tristan, she pulled some photographs from her purse. "These are for you."
Most of them were off her son, but there were several with her as well, or just her alone. She had never seen her father's cell at Le Trou, but she imagined it plastered with photographs.
Jean cracked a smile at the sight of his grandson on a toy broomstick. "He's getting so big."
"Yes, and he's finally gotten over stripping in public. He still does it at home, though."
"He'll grow out of that someday too," Jean replied with a smile.
"We can only hope!"
She and her father talked of more pleasant things until it was time for the visit to end. Then, she took an international floo home to Cardiff.