|
|
Getting Things Done
Author: Karma Davyd
Date: 04-22-11 17:47
"What have you been doing with the week and a half that you've been in London?" There was annoyance in my mother's voice as we spoke via fire early this morning London time, which put it at about mid-morning in Mumbai.
"I've met someone whom I can at some point consider a friend as time goes on. Her name is Bronwyn Beck, wife of Quidditch Player Tobias Beck." I said, and yes, I dropped names, knowing that it would help soothe my mother for at least a little while.
"Let me guess, she loves shopping just as much as you do." There was sarcasm dripping from my mother's voice as her flamey visage rolled its eyes in time with hers back in Mumbai.
"She does, but I do not see how that is a problem. I can budget and I am far from penniless mother, and I am doing well for myself. Yes, I am actually staying in London, no I am not going to turn tail and run home simply because I know next to no one. I didn't turn and run when I was in St. Petersburg."
My mother's mouth opened to say something and she thought better of it. She was finally realizing that she was not going to win the 'war' that she'd started to turn me into the perfect Indian housewife.
"At least come home every now and then hmm?" She said, and there were traces of defeat in her voice, perhaps I've finally won my mother over.
"I will mama, now, I've got to go. I've got a few things to do, including sending out a letter to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore to see if there will be a position open at the start of next term for a History of Magic professor."
With that conversation ended, I pushed up and into my bedroom and showered. I'd grab probably a soy iced mocha and a blueberry scone from Starbucks near my flat before I would head to the owl post and send off a few messages. Beyond that, I had little planned for my day, aside from sending those few owls out.
I finished writing out the letters that I needed to send, one to Headmaster Dumbledore and the other to the head of Agrippa College at St. Emry's.
Dear Headmaster Dumbledore,
It is not often that I write letters of this variety. My name is Karma Davyd, and I have recently moved to London from St. Petersburg, Russia where I recieved my tertiary order in History. The purpose of my letter is to inquire if you would have an open position teaching History of Magic.
I look forward to hearing from you soon with your answer upon this inquiry, my hope is that it is positive in nature, but I understand if it is not.
Again, thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Karma Davyd
Once everything was written, and I was adequately dressed and my hair done and make up done, upon grabbing my clutch I headed out of my flat toward the owl post and ultimately my soy iced mocha and blueberry scone. After I got my yummy breakfast I headed back to my flat, I was waiting on a furniture delivery that would be coming later today. Beyond that, all I am waiting for is a response from either Hogwarts or St. Emry's.
Monday Morning
Author: Lawrence Masterson
Date: 04-22-11 18:59
Lawrence moved into the greenhouse wanting to get things situated before his only class at two, however, he also had office hours from twelve thirty until his two o'clock class. They were finishing up with poisonous plants in a few days, and getting ready for the end of Winter term before Easter on the twenty seventh.
He'd bid Ariella an early morning good bye as she headed into the village for her morning shift at Briar's and he'd see her for lunch before he headed to his office hours and then ultimately to his class this afternoon.
His fifth year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff would have a practice examination somewhat similiar to what occur at the end of the school year for their OWL examinations. Once he was done setting up the plants within the greenhouse he headed into the Great Hall for a quick breakfast and time to finish grading a few papers for his Thursday courses.
Lunch At Home
Author: Griffin Price
Date: 04-22-11 19:50
Griff opens the kitchen door and takes half a step out. "Tristan! Lunch!"
Tristan, sweaty and flushed from hard play with one of the neighbor children, comes running from around a big tree. "Can Justin eat here."
"Sure, if his grandmum says it's all right."
Griff steps outside to go around to one side where there's a gate in the fence next door. He doesn't have to go to the house itself because Justin's grandmother is there in the yard doing some gardening. "Hi, Amy. Is it all rigth if Justin has lunch with us?"
"Is it getting to be that time? I got so wrapped up enjoying this nicer weather and getting started on the garden that I lost all track of time." Amy gives a laugh. "You are welcome to feed Justin if you want. He's not being any trouble is he?"
"Not at all. Tristan and he play very well together."
"We love having Tristan over as well."
"Thank you for saying so," Griff says just as, "Dad?" is called from the backyard.
"Coming!" Griff replies then says to Amy, "I have work at two so I'll let them play for a little while after lunch and then get Justin home."
"Perfect. He'll be ready for a nap by then. He tried to tell his parents and me that he's too big for naps but give him a little time after lunch and he's nodding off."
"Tristan can be the same way."
"Dad!"
"See you in a bit, Amy, and thanks."
"No, thank you, Griff."
There's another door that's closer than walking around to the back so Griff goes in that way, scooping Seeayetee up as he goes. Much as she adores time with Tristan, the cat is old enough now that two energetic boys are more than she cares to be around for very long. She'd come in through one of the cat doors a bit ago and found a spot to lie in the sun. The second Griff picks her up, Seeayetee starts purring and snuggles under his neck.
Once back in the kitchen, Griff returns to the still open door to call out, "Tristan, Justin, come in to eat."
The two boys race to see who gets to the door first then giggling they literally tumble through the entrance together. Griff sets Seeayetee down at her bowl and begins filling it as he says to the bosy, "Wash hands, please."
A few minutes later Justin and Tristan are seated at the table, hot turkey sandwich halves in front of them and Griff asking Justin, "Do you like noodle soup?"
As he's already taken a bite of his sandwich Justin's response is to mutely nod and tap the soup bowl Griff had already put down. After getting both the boys served Griff sits down with his own plate, half listening as the boys jabber while he thinks about the Rufus Henshaw case. Harry and he had reinterviewed a number of people after Griff had stumbled upon the first real break they'd gotten. They've now found other names they at first thought dead-ends but now turn out to have been used either by Henshaw or someone working for him. Going back through the list of names, finding people who'd been out of the office for some reason yet were seen showing up at work, no matter how briefly, during that same time has been slow going.
Now that Harry and Griff have done all that the task they're now working on is figuring out who or what these people have in common. Why did Henshaw pick them for him or someone else to impersonate? How did he know those people were gone on those days? Are they looking for just one Ministry person feeding Henshaw this information or does Henshaw have a network inside the Ministry? As he eats, Griff's thinking about all this and reading over some of his case notes.
"More, Dad? Please?"
Griff looks up from his notes to smile at his son. "Sure, Tristan. More soup or sandwich or both?"
"Both?"
"Justin?"
"Both, please."
"More ocming right up." Griff gets each of the boys more of the homemade chicken noodle soup then goes to the stovetop where he makes another hot turkey sandwich to cut in half. Back at the table he tells Tristan and Justin, "When you've both finished, we'll have some cake."
"My won cake?" Tristan asks, meaning a Briar's Bakery cake he'd gotten in an egg Saturday at the Hogwarts Easter Egg Hunt."
"Yes, your won cake. Did you show Justin the toys you got on Saturday?"
"We played with some," Justin answers.
This leads the boys to talking about some of the prizes Tristan got while Griff goes back to reading his case notes until the boys interupt this thoughts to say they've cleaned their plates and could they please have cake now?
Profess On The Case
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 04-23-11 11:50
Harry rubs at his eyes then gives a shake of his head. "I really don't want to think about Henshaw having more than one person on the inside but I just don't see what other conclusion there is. There's so little connection between everyone."
Griff leans back in his chair, arms extending wide. "I don't know either. We do have to consider that one or more might be Imperiused."
"I'd prefer that being the case over having the entire Ministry infiltrated by Henshaw's people who are in their right minds."
"Yeah, true. Okay, different people from different offices from different departments. Henshaw or his people knew to replace them on certain days... " Griff's voice trails off for a moment, his eyes fixed on the flow chart we've made on one of his cubicle walls."
"What?" Harry asks, searching the flow chart to see if it's something there that has Griff not finishing his train of thought.
Griff swivels his chair to look at Harry. "What if the ones not coming in because of being sick it's because someone made them sick?"
"That would certainly help Henshaw know for certain when someone wouldn't be in to work, making it safer to impersonate the person."
"Of course, that still brings us back to who'd be tasked with it. I doubt it's Henshaw himself."
Harry's got his case notes open, thumbing through them. "You know, every single person who was ill during one of the times we know Henshaw had a look-a-like here started feeling sick while here at work."
"And every single one of them was out for a week to two weeks with similar flu like symptoms. All perfectly reasonable when you consider they all work in a large building with hundred of employees, all spreading germs around."
"But what if someone induced them to be sick. Slipped something in their coffee, something like that."
"That could be the missing link for those who were out ill. Lots of coffee and tea made in offices and at desks but just about everyone at some point goes to the canteen for drinks or food."
Harry nods, "Okay, so we look at all the food service personnel. Now, what's the link for those times and people who weren't out sick but were away from the Ministry for other reasons? How would Henshaw know it was safe have them impersonated?"
Griff makes a face. "When someone is away overnight on Ministry related business, is that handled on a departmental basis or is does it all go to one central office?"
"You mean like for paying back expenses or booking a hotel room?"
"Yeah."
Harry shrugs, "No idea but it's something easily found out."
The two men rise, Griff saying, "Why do you do that and I'll get started looking at the food service personnel files."
"That will take longer I'm sure so I'll just meet you there when I'm done," Harry replies.
Griff and Harry walk with purpose, both feeling as though they are working in the right direction to crack this and get Rufus Henshaw in Azkaban where he belongs.
Quick Practical and a Study Guide
Author: Saffron
Date: 04-23-11 15:24
"Five minute assignment on the board, be sure you get to it straight away," Saffron tells the sixth years by way of greeting as they file into the Arithmancy & Divination classroom.
By now the students know that such an assignment can be a relatively easy way to earn an Outstanding that will combine with other daily grades to factor into the overall average grade. It also means that the time starts with the official start of class at 2 so those who are a little early actually have more than five minutes and since some of them work more slowly, they need every spare second they can get. For Saffron, it's a good way to help get the students settled and focused more quickly plus it gives her extra grades to work with for those who need an additional little push now and again to get their overall average up.
Promptly at 2:05, Saffron calls for quills down and takes up the work. Straightening the parchments in her hand, Saffron nods at one of the blackboards. "Study guide questions for your Friday exam. While you're working on them I'll call you up one by one for a your practical portion. When we're done I'll answer any questions you have about the study guide and the exam. I think we'll do reverse alphabetical order today so Francis, to my desk please."
Francis Yao nods and murmurs, "Yes, ma'am," putting down his quill. Saffron moves to join him, placing the parchments into an IN box she's got on her desk. "This won't take long and as well as you've been doing, you shouldn't have any ."
Saffron pauses a moment, hand going to her bulging belly. Unlike last time she was expecting, Saffron doesn't have to worry with wearing robes that hide her condition and unlike last time, everyone knows she's nearly six months along. Francis asks her, "Anything wrong?"
"No, he's just decided to kick up a storm."
"That must feel strange."
"It is but it isn't. It's hard to explain and it's different coming from the inside than it feels from the outside," Saffron tells him, patting her stomach. "Would you like to feel?"
"You don't mind?"
"No, I only mind when someone walks up and lays a hand there without asking first."
Francis puts his hand where Saffron indicates. The baby is kicking energetically and after a few seconds Francis takes his hand away. "That's pretty cool."
"Yes, I think so. Now, back to your practical. Look in this teacup and tell me three things you see," Saffron instructs. The sixth years have been doing advanced tasseography among other things.
When Francis is done, Saffron has him apply what they've been doing with Gemetria to calculate some numerical values. When he's done and satisfied with his responses, Francis returns to the table where he'd been sitting with Geoffrey Ludlow and Timothy Gabble. Saffron turns a smiling face to the students and calls out to William Reade, "Will, you're next."
Even though the class enrollment is small and even though it only takes two or three minutes per student on average, with only forty-five minutes for the class period, time moves by quickly. When done with the short practicals there's just enough time left for Saffron to answer questions as promised regarding the study guide questions and the Friday exam itself. Soon, the sixth years are packing up to go and Saffron's putting up a five minute assignment for the fifth years who have class at 3.
Visit from Ronan
Author: Illyria
Date: 04-25-11 19:25
Illyria sat in her office and marked exams from last night, when her first and third years had written finals to mark the end of Winter Term. The other set of first and third years would write their finals this evening. Everybody seemed ready for Easter hols, Illyria included, but she tried to set a good example for her students by remaining diligent in her duties as one of the Astronomy professors at Hogwarts.
She busied herself as deeply as she could in marking the exams but kept a regular eye on the clock so that she wouldn't miss her first class. It wouldn't do to be tardy when she took points away from her students when they were late to class.
"Illyria?"
She looked up and saw Ronan standing in the doorway. Illyria's face instantly lit up.
"Ronan! What a pleasant surprise."
"I felt like stopping by. I hope you don't mind," he said, entering and taking a seat in front of her desk when she gestured for him to do so.
"Not at all." Illyria put down her quill and leaned back in her chair. She assessed the man for whom she had once served as legal guardian. He looked a bit tired.
"Ronan, are you getting enough sleep?"
Ronan looked surprised by the question. "Yeah. Especially now that term is over. Why?"
"You look a little worn out, is all," Illyria commented.
He chuckled then. "I guess you could say it's the job. Don't get me wrong. I like it, quite a lot really, but..." He trailed off, as if he didn't quite know how to continue. Then he chuckled again. "I suppose you could say that my coworkers have peculiar work habits. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who actually takes the job seriously."
Illyria smiled. "It's good to be a hard worker, but don't burn yourself out. You're too young for that."
"Yes, Mum," Ronan teased.
Illyria stuck her tongue out at him. "So, what else is new?"
"Well..." Ronan trailed off again. "I kind of have a crush on one of my coworkers."
"Really? One of the ones with 'peculiar work habits', as you so lovingly described?"
"No, she's a better worker, for sure. She's pretty. And funny. But she's a bit older than me."
"How much older?"
"I don't really know. Maybe your age."
"A senior citizen, then!"
Ronan chuckled. "I think a more apt term is cougar."
"As old as I am compared to you, I don't think I qualify as a cougar just yet," Illyria commented, laughing. When she grew serious, she asked, "So does this mean you are completely over Artemis?"
Ronan shrugged. "I think getting dumped by owl makes it easier to move on faster. Not that it was easy. She doesn't have Astronomy today, does she?"
"Professor Quigley has fifth years this evening, I believe," Illyria replied. "And speaking of class, it won't be long till I have to test my first years. Can we continue this conversation later?"
"Definitely," Ronan said, getting up. "How about we have dinner this weekend sometime?"
"Saturday night?"
"That works."
Illyria saw Ronan to the door and then returned to her desk to get a few more exams marked before she had to meet her first years in the Astronomy classroom.
Late Night Cat Crisis
Author: Coco Nutt
Date: 04-25-11 21:03
Coco apparates to just in front of McFusty's Pets, key already in hand to unlock the door and wand at the ready to disarm the protective charms that help prevent break-ins. The shoppe and clinic are on the Floo but as with many businesses, it's only operational during working hours. Indigo could of Floo'd in but he's never given Coco the necessary information for her to do so, not because he doesn't trust her but mainly because he's been living above the shoppe and people needing emergency animal care tend to either stick their heads in the fire to talk to him via the Floo into his flat or they come to Hogsmeade, head up the outer entry stairs, and knock on his door.
Tonight though Coco was contacted. For one thing, Indigo isn't in even with the late hour and for another, the person with the pet in crisis is none other than the girlfriend of Coco's recently found father. Letitia Rufford is a St. Mungo's healer but a cat having violent epileptic type seizures for an hour when there is no history of seizures and is still a young cat isn't something she knows how to handle. A person in a similar situation, she'd be capable of jumping right in, working to find the underlying cause and a solution. While she could apply some of that to her cat, she's simply not knowledgeable enough about cat physiology to effectively problem solve.
Although Letitia has been cordial to Coco she's not been overly warm when Chad Yeates brought Coco to meet her. Still, when her beloved cat Button began having the seizures this evening and Letitia hadn't been able to contact Indigo, her first thought was of Coco. Coco had, of course, come straight away. She's hoping she can quickly figure out what's wrong with Button or at the very least get the seizures to stop so he'll be comfortable while she does tests.
Coco also harbors a small hope that Letitia will finally be more accepting and friendly to her. Or maybe Coco can at least find out why Letitia has seemed less than thrilled to have Coco in Chad's life.
Using her wand to light the clinic, Coco leads Letitia with Button to the first exam room. Keeping up a steady stream of talk to Button, who's dazed and confused and highly stressed while the seizures continue, Coco gets right to work, soothing the cat and working to solve the health crisis, a worried and concerned Letitia helping to soothe Button.