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New Guardian
Author: Mildred
Date: 02-10-12 06:42
Mildred was having lunch at the Great Hall with all her Gryffindor colleagues. Since the Halloween Feast that she wasn't alone anymore. She had meals with her friends and they did homework together. Yesterday they even went outside to the grounds and had a snowball fight. There wasn't that much snow but it was enough for them to have fun. But Mildred was still shy and quiet and so she let the others do all the talking. Thank Merlin no one seemed to mind.
She was still worried they would find out about her father, but neither of them had inquired her about him. Each time a letter from Azkaban arrived Mildred tried to act normal, telling her friends the letter came from her grandmother. She would quickly save the brown envelope into her robes and she would only read it later, generally in a bathroom stall.
"Miss Campbell, may I have a word with you?" Professor McGonagall asked as she was passing by the Gryffindor table. Mildred nodded and left the bench she was seated. Achilles asked her what has she done wrong and the little witch only shook her head negatively. She could feel everyone's eyes as she approached McGonagall. The head of the Gryffindor house was quite intimidating. Queenie used to say Professor McGonagall was like their replacement grandmother while they were at Hogwarts, but Mildred would have to disagree with her. She just couldn't picture McGonagall baking cakes or knitting. The little witch had seen her during the last quidditch match where Slytherin defeated Gryffindor. It seemed like the Transfiguration teacher wanted to rip off someone's head. Probably Professor Snape's because he presented in his face what it seemed to be like a smug smile. That was not how grandmothers would react.
"Yes Professor?" Mildred asked, feeling butterflies inside her stomach. She was nervous.
"Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office right away," and then before Mildred inquired her about the motive Professor McGonagall escorted her to the headmaster's office without a word.
Mildred had never been into Dumblore's office. In fact she had never spoken to Dumbledore in person. She tried to figure out what had happened. Was she going to be expelled? Did something happen to her father? Or was this about her grandmother?
Professor McGonagall knocked the door, bringing the little witch back to reality. Dumbledore voice sounded from the other side of the door and told them to come in. Mildred felt his blue eyes on her and she looked away embarrassed. The headmaster was not alone. Seated on a chair, in front of Dumbledore's opulent desk was a middle age wizard in a gray suit, holding a briefcase.
"Thank you Minerva," Dumbledore thanked McGonagall and after a nod the Transfiguration teacher left, closing the door behind her. The head master then turned to Mildred. "Please have a sit Miss Campbell."
Mildred did what she was told, her hands on her lap laced in each other.
"This is Mr. Henry Northman. He was your mother's lawyer and he wishes to speak to you."
Mr. Northman greeted Mildred and then after a little cough he used his wand to open his briefcase. As he spoke some documents flew in the air.
"I apologize for only come to you now, Miss Campbell. But there have been some…hum...complications with your mother's will."
"My mother's will?"
Mildred looked at Dumbledore and the headmaster nodded in confirmation.
"I didn't know about any will, my grandmother never told me about…"
"Yes, I'm afraid Mrs. Howard forgot about it too. She sold your mother's house and goods. But she had no right to do so because technically they were yours. Mrs. Campbell said so in her will." Finally all the documents landed in the briefcase with the exception of one. Mr. Northman picked it up, adjusted the glasses he used and after another cough he studied the scroll in his hand. "Unfortunately the house and the goods had already been sold and it was revealing hard to get them back. "
Mildred looked to the lawyer a bit disappointed. Mr. Northman noticed this because he quickly added:
"I have created an account under your name at Gringotts and the money your grandmother won with selling your mother's house and goods have been deposited there. She cannot have access to the vault. I know this might not be the right but it was what I was able to do." He then turned to Dumbledore: "Mrs. Howard had a hard time understanding the money belonged to her granddaughter. I had to threaten her with fraud if she insisted in keeping the money."
"She had always been s a complicated witch," Dumbledore shared. Mildred probably would have used the word 'greedy'. She remembered her father had used it once.
Mr. Northman proceeded:
"Mrs. Campbell also wrote on her will that in case she would die and her daughter would be a minor, she would be under the guard of her father Alexander Campbell. As you know, Mr. Campbell is not in conditions to take care of you. So Miss Campbell then appointed her sister, Helen Howard."
"Aunt Helen?" Mildred had a vague idea of her mother's younger sister. Her mother used to talk about her and things they did together when they were young, like pranks and games among other things. But it has been a while since Mildred had seen her aunt. She wasn't even present at her mother's funeral.
"I am still trying to track her. It's hard when one of our kind decides to remain hidden. Once I do so I shall inform her about your current situation Miss Campbell and see if she accepts to be your guardian. I promise to keep you updated. Meanwhile you will remain under your grandmother's guard since she is the third and last person in the list."
Mildred nodded, hoping Mr. Northman would find her aunt soon. The lawyer didn't have anything else to discuss with Mildred and so she was dismissed. She was already a bit late for her History of Magic class but Dumbledore assured her Professor Davyd would not remove points to Gryffindor due to her lateness. The little witch thanked him and to Mr. Northman as well and she left the room.
She was a bit sad she wouldn't be able to keep the house she had grown up or her mother's things. But at least now she wouldn't have to ask her grandmother money for the Secret Santa. She could even buy presents to all her friends and to her father!
Mildred entered the History of Magic classroom and apologized to Professor Davyd. She occupied the only spare sit in the front row and she started paying attention in class.
Special Assignment
Author: Errol
Date: 02-10-12 14:48
Setting a stack of backs onto the library table where he's decided to sit, Errol consults a list, turns a half circle as he scans the ends of bookshelves for classification numbers then trudges to the third one over. The next set of books on the list won't be along this bookshelf but should be located somewhere along the next bookshelf in line with it. Laden with four move books, he returns to the table, this time to sit.
From a somewhat scuffed, worn leather bookbag he retreives parchment, ink, and quills. From a dark green folder on which Errol has doodled a series of strange animals, each more odd than the last, he retrieves another sheaf of parchment. After reading over it for about the forth time, he studies the titles of the books in the three neat piles before him.
He settles on starting with a book three down in the centermost stack and has just opened it to the index to jot down page numbers of several key words when Megara Flynn taps the back of the chair directly across from him. "Are you supposed to be in class or am I confused about your schedule? I have trouble enough remembering mine."
After telling Megara everything the other night Errol has been sure that once she was away from him and had time to truly digest what he'd said, she'd want nothing more to do with him. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't surprised when the very next morning she'd sat down right next to him in the Great Hall where for some reason nothing looked appealing to eat. She'd given him a nudge in the side. "Are you waiting for breakfast to eat you instead of the other way around?"
Errol's initial thought was that he has been so desperate to finally have someone not only fully hear his side of the story but to also believe him that he dreamed telling Megara. Because, really, why would a girl want to stay on friendly terms with someone she still hardly knows and whom she now knows is thought to be an attempted rapist with one of those attempts leading to one girl's death? Hair he's still not gotten trimmed hanging in his face, he'd been unable to meet Megara's eyes when replying, "Guess I'm just not hungry this morning."
"Having seen you eat lately, I find that hard to believe. It doesn't have anything to do with last night, does it?"
And there it was. Confirmation that he had, in fact, told her and yet she still is speaking to him of her own free will.
Now he's surprised to see Megara here in the library, but only because with as much roaming around as he'd just done getting the books on the list he would have thought he'd seen her if she's been here even for a short time. "Yeah, I'm usually in Care of Magical Creatures but there's a field trip today." Errol makes a sweep with one hand. "All this is for the assignment Professor Kent gave me to do instead."
As she usually does when decided to join him, Megara sits down uninvited, not that Errol minds much at the moment. "It's ridiculous really that your uncle won't even let you do class field trips. Does he think you'll scarper off?"
"Or something." Errols shrug is decidedly half-hearted. "Working on something too?"
"I'm not happy with a few paragraphs for that Potions assignment. If I'm not happy with them then Professor Snape damned sure won't be so I'm here to see if I can polish them up before going to Muggle Studies at 3:30. Mind if I work here? I promise I won't talk very much."
"That desperate to fix the Potions assignment, are you?"
"Hello. You've met Professor Snape."
"Do you think he's ever liked a single student?"
"Rumor has it that he did not despise Professor Weasley when she was a student."
"Not being despised by him would be like being teacher's pet. Hard to believe."
They share a quite snicker before Errol says, "I got jaw dropping news this morning. Uncle Ross is going to let me do Secret Santa. As soon as the name draw is done, I have to get a few ideas to him, or more specifically to his secretary, and the gift will be bought and owled back."
"That's great! But why don't you look happier about it?"
"Oh, I am happy about that. But, well, it's just that Uncle Ross has made it definite that I don't get to go home for Christmas break. He said he's working the whole time and will be on business Christmas day."
"Who does business on Christmas day?"
"People who don't celebrate it."
"Do you think he'll really be busy?"
"Yeah, even if he had to purposely book meetings and stuff just so he wouldn't have to lie and then feel guilty about not only leaving me here but not coming to see me either. He hates me."
"He doesn't hate you, Errol."
Errol snorts but keeps the sarcastic response on his lips to himself. They fall into silence, Megara working on Potions and Errol doing the Care of Magical Creatures assignment while the rest of his class is off on what has got to be a totally cool field trip to the Atlantic to see sea serpents. A little before 3:30 Megara softly bids him, "Bye, see you at dinner," and leaves for Muggle Studies. With no other class today and with Professor Kent having told him to turn the assignment in sometime tomorrow, Errol works until he's completed it.
After returning all the books to their proper spots on the shelves, he double checks that he's put his name on the assignment, and repacks his bookbag with all but the assignment. After heading down to the first floor to leave it at Professor Kent's office, Errol continues on to the Great Hall even though, once again, he finds he has no appetite.
Paranoid
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 02-10-12 18:26
Ethan stepped into Lilly's room and peered over the rim of her crib to see whether or not she'd fallen asleep. He'd tucked her in a short while ago and though she'd not been fussy, she'd seemed more awake than sleepy. He was pleased and pleasantly surprised to see that she was indeed asleep now. Lilly's breathing was slow and even and she looked extremely peaceful.
He slipped from her room and went to the kitchen to finish cleaning the dirty dishes he'd left in the sink from that morning. He got as far as rinsing out his cereal bowl when he heard a noise that sounded very much like something scratching up against the living room window.
Ethan shut off the water and froze, listening hard. He didn't hear anything further, but that didn't satisfy his curiosity or ease his concern. He set the clean bowl on the drying rack and grabbed the hand towel, drying his hands as he walked into the living room. He swept his gaze from the front window to the one on the side of the room. The curtains were drawn on both, but they were made of thin material and could show a change in light quite easily. Both windows were absolutely dark, though.
He tossed the hand towel onto the sofa and approached the side window first. Ethan pulled back the curtains and peered out into the darkness. He saw nothing, but it was difficult because he had light on in the living room.
He drew the curtains closed again and produced his wand, plunging the living room into darkness. Then he crossed over to the front window without managing to stub his toe on anything along the way. He peered through the curtains on that window but didn't see anything suspicious there either.
Perhaps it had been his imagination. After all, he'd had the water running. Maybe he'd only thought he'd heard something outside his window.
Ethan pulled the curtains closed again and flicked his wand, bringing light back into the room. He went to the sofa, picked up the discarded hand towel, and threw it over his shoulder. He gave the room a cursory glance and then returned to the kitchen, thinking.
He knew he was only paranoid because Hattie Harsnip was still at large. It certainly didn't help matters that no one from law enforcement was keeping an eye on the duplex anymore. Ethan had no concern for his own safety, but he did worry about Lilly.
He went back to washing dishes but stayed on high alert for any other suspicious sounds.
Venice - The House Is Still Pink
Author: Lucius Malfoy
Date: 02-10-12 18:42
Lucius is meeting a fairly recent acquaintance for dinner in Venice and thought as long as he'd be in the vicinity, he'd check in on Bellatrix. She's been extremely quiet of late. After apparating to the speck of a piazza he normally uses, Lucius had leisurely strolled the short route to the house that Bellatrix has been occupying for sometime now; a house that is, shockingly given its owners tastes, a visually painful pink.
His sharp, double rap on the door is almost instantly answered by a house elf who though recognizing Lucius intones, "Please enter but Mistress is not to be disturbed."
"Tell Bellatrix I'm here. She'll see me."
"Bobbin cannot tell Mistress."
"Of course you can. Go!"
"But Mistress is not to be disturbed."
Lucius is tempted to fell the creature on the spot but stays himself in time with a reminder that Bellatrix would not take kindly to someone else destroying her property, even if that someone else is Lucius. He opts for shoving the scrawny thing aside and doing what Bellatrix has so often done when visiting him. He stalks from the entry down the hall, peering through open doors as he makes his way to the room at the back of the house where Bellatrix tends to spend her time. Finding the door ajar, Lucius simultaneously knocks and pushes it further open.
"Bellatrix?"
The room is dark but light from both the hallway and from the windows spill through, outlining a shape in one of the chairs. "Bellatrix? It's Lucius. Are you all right?"
The shape stirs. "Lucius? Come in."
Bellatrix has the lights on by the time Lucius is standing in front of her chair. "Did I disturb a nap?"
"No, I was just lost in thought. Rodolphus is complaining I've not done more to free him from Azkaban. He's threatening a divorce if I don't act soon. Rabastan insists that if I get Rodolphus out I get him out as well. If I don't, he's going to tell Rodolphus we had an affair."
Lucius, sitting now in a matching wing backed chair, leans forward. "Did you?"
"Yes, but he really should know better than to threaten to expose that information to Rodolphus."
"Is your loathing of being threatened what had you sitting here in the dark, lost in thought?"
"That, and I am torn. You see, if I do break them both out I feel I must also teach Rabastan a lesson for thinking he can threaten me. If I don't get them both out, I still must teach him the lesson. I cannot decide which to do."
With an amused shake of his head, Lucius chuckles, "I have a bit of time before I need to meet someone. Let's discuss your options more in depth? And where is Barty?"
"He's around. Most likely gone for a walk. I suppose first I should decide whether to leave them there or figure out a way to spring them, once again, from Azakan. What's your opinion?"
Just Prior To Writing An Exam (Kordelia)
Author: Kody
Date: 02-11-12 17:24
Taking the fruit juice and bag of crisps she'd just purchased to a table where she can view the inviting beach scene through one of the charmed windows in Orange, Kordelia thinks she wouldn't mind being on that beach getting some sun instead of getting ready to write an exam. In the five years since being reunited with her family Kordelia has sort of drifted. She attended St. Emrys full-time but with no clear idea of what she wanted to do. She'd done part-time, as she's done this term, while working different jobs. She's done nothing at all other than spending time with her family to rebuild bonds and to recapture what memories she could of life with them before Winifred Brown took her. At 28, she feels she should be far more settled, have more direction and purpose. At least her parents are supportive. Laura and Christopher had pointed out that since the family has money, Kordelia needing time to find a job path that makes her happy is not exactly a hardship on them.
Between the work she's been doing recently and the classes she's taken the last couple of terms, Kordelia thinks she's finally found what she's been searching for in international affairs, politics, and foreign policy. Now if only she could jump ahead in time just enough to have the schooling and training behind her!
"Nia?"
Slightly startled at hearing that name after so long Kordelia looks up to a familiar face. A smile breaks across her face as she rises to embrace the man she last saw as still something of a boy. "Emilian!"
When the hug ends she gestures, "Sit down if you have the time."
"I have a little time, yes. How are you? What are you doing here?" Emilian Dancescu's voice sounds deeper, and pleasantly so, than she remembers.
"I'm good, thank you. I'm taking a few classes and have an exam to write soon. How are you? Are you a student too?"
"I'm great, though ready for this week to end. This is my first term as an instructor, Alchemy and some Potions as well. I wish we'd run into each other before last day of term."
"Yes, me too. I believe the last time we saw each other was end of term our last year at Durmstrang. Are you married? Kids?"
"No, still looking. What about you?"
"Same here. I date but haven't been able to find someone I can seem myself with in the long term. There have also been a few who nearly had me rethinking dating altogether."
"I very much empathize. Since you have an exam to get to shortly, Nia, "
"Kordelia, actually."
"You changed your name?"
"No, Kordelia is my given name. Nia was never who I was. I'm surprised you hadn't heard the story by now."
"I was about to suggest we get together later, for dinner tonight? Or tomorrow if tonight isn't convenient? You could tell me all about it."
"I happen to be free tonight."
"So, that's a yes?"
"Yes, that would be a yes."
"Do you prefer to meet me someplace or shall I come to your house?"
"I can meet you somewhere."
"Do you know the Imperial Crown & Cauldron in Hogsmeade?"
"I am quite familiar with it."
"Is six too early for you?"
"Six is perfect."
"Excellent." Emilian stands up and only then does Kordelia realize that he's taken hold of her hand. "I cannot wait for six o'clock. I would wish you luck on your exam but as I recall, you were always a good student. Until tonight."
Kordelia watches Emilian stride across Orange to the exit, her hand tingling from where he touched it. A few minutes later when she walks into the room for her World Governments test one of her friends from the class gives her a lopsided smile, "I've never seen someone looking so happy at the prospect of writing a final exam."