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Confusion
Author: Ella
Date: 12-01-12 12:19
Ella sat at the open window and listened to the waves rolling onto shore in the near distance. She'd woken up somewhat late to find the space next to her empty and cold. Zane had not come home last night.
He often worked late, but Ella didn't know what he did and never felt the urge to ask. For some reason, it didn't matter to him what he did for a living. She was simply happy being with him in his lovely home on the sea.
A cool breeze brought gooseflesh to her arms and she shivered, reaching for a cardigan draped over the back of her chair. As soon as Ella pulled it on, she noticed an owl flying toward the house. It was still a good distance away when it seemed to grow confused, as if it didn't know where to go anymore. It flew first to one side and then the other, moving back and forth for several minutes before turning around and flying away.
Ella furrowed her brow and wondered what had happened to cause the owl to go back in the opposite direction. It looked like it had been flying towards her, perhaps bearing letters to congratulate her on her birthday, which was tomorrow. She had never seen an owl not deliver mail to its intended recipient, not even when the recipient had no money or owl treats with which to pay it.
She decided to walk outside and see if she could spot the owl, in case it tried to deliver its post again. Ella got as far as the front door when she remembered that Zane had advised her to not go out on her own. It had been a command, but for some unexplainable reason, Ella had not taken it as such. She thought he was trying to protect her, and if she stayed home, then she would remain safe.
Still, the curiosity to find the owl overwhelmed her. Ella wrapped her hand around the doorknob and gave it a good turn. When she opened the door, she gasped because Zane stood on the doormat, looking intensely annoyed but also hurt. He had four pink scratches on his cheek, a few of which had broken the skin.
Ella seized him by the hand and pulled him into the house. "What happened? Are you okay?" she asked him, leading him to the chair by the window.
He allowed her to sit him down and winced when she tilted his face up to better see his wounds.
"Had a bit of a problem last night, or this morning, I guess it was," Zane grumbled, "but it's been sorted out."
Ella used her wand to summon a first aid kit and began tending to his cheek. "Tell me about it?" she asked him.
Zane replied, "You wouldn't want to hear about it, and I'm too tired to talk about it."
Ella didn't feel like arguing and let the subject drop. She fixed him up and then sent him straight to bed. He, however, insisted she join him and wrapped his arms so tightly around her that she couldn't get out of bed without disturbing his rest. She hadn't forgotten about the owl, but there was nothing she could do about it now.
Revelation
Author: Dante Knight
Date: 12-01-12 14:18
At the base of the stairs leading up to what some will long refer to as either Albus Dumbledore's office or as the Headmaster's office but is now the office of Hogwarts Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, Dante glances at the gargoyle statue, sort of wishing it were not over to the side but was instead in its usual spot in front of the office's hidden entrance. The current password had been given out during the last staff meeting but, atypical of him, Dante could not remember what that word is. Maybe he subconsciously blocked it out so as to have an excuse for putting off meeting with McGonagall.
Dante had done that yesterday. Found an excuse. He'd been all set to approach the older witch and ask for a sit down with her in private only to change his mind when seeing her with head close to that of Filius Flitwick's at the two conferenced about something. Dante had told himself she was clearly too busy for anything more than two or three minutes. What he needs to speak to her about will certainly take somewhat longer than that so he'd walked away without a word, not even bothering to try and schedule something for later.
Today, he'd renewed his resolve. He's got to speak with her and he must do it soon. If he waits much longer, Dumbledore's death, funeral planning, and associated confusion and chaos as the reasons for delaying the talk will no longer be valid or all that believable. Dante could just not have the face to face but what if Rocky or Dad decide to carry through on the threat? Better to come from him than from them.
Feeling the gargoyle's eyes slide over him as if it could think and wonder why Dante is still standing rooted to one spot spurs him into stepping foot onto the spiral staircase. As soon as he does, the staircase begins its spin upward to deposit him at the headmistress's office door. He has no reason to think Professor McGonagall is not there because if she weren't, the staircase surely would not have been visible. This is verified by how quickly she responds with, "Come in," to Dante's knock.
He opens the door and steps just barely inside. "Excuse me, Professor McGonagall, do you have time to talk?"
"Yes, Professor Knight. Have a seat."
She waits until he's in a chair opposite her desk before asking him, "Are your first days of term going well?"
"Yes, ma'am, thank you." Dante shifts in his seat, trying to find a good place to start. He's gone over this in his head too many times to count but now that he's actually about to take the plunge, he's gone absolutely blank.
McGonagall looks on with an expectant smile. He shifts again, starting to feel somewhat foolish. He can tell she's on the verge of a verbal prompt when he finally speaks. "I don't know exactly where to start."
"I've always found it best to start at the beginning."
"Yes, ma'am, but it's difficult, you see."
"No, not yet as you've not told me anything."
"Right, sorry." Dante sighs, gives himself a mental kick then requests, "I have a question or two for you and you're going to wonder why I'm asking but if you will bear with me, I'll explain. What do you remember about Terrence and Lorraine Vickers?"
"The Vickers? Why would you ," Professor McGonagall stops herself, Dante's request to be borne out made only seconds before. She goes silent, getting a look on her face that usually indicates someone is dredging up facts and information. To Dante, the short wait while she thinks seems hours long.
"She was a Longbottom as I recall. She had been in Ravenclaw and he was in Hufflepuff. Most everyone called her Lor or Rainy and his nickname for some reason was Bruno. They married straight out of Hogwarts. Either during their last year of school or shortly after they both became overly interested in certain aspects of the dark arts. Within a few years they were both questioned about the death of a collector of dark arts manuscripts. They managed to convince the authorities that the man's death was at the hands of one of Voldemort's supporters. Shortly after that they were questioned about several robberies and two other deaths. Everything came to a head when Aurors learned of a location where the Vickers were keeping Muggles for their blood and to use in dark arts experiments. The Ministry was set to raid the place but as they began moving in, before any anti-apparation spells could be cast, the Vickers set off a series of explosions, killing all the Muggles inside, sixty-three I believe was the final count, as well as killing four Aurors, two Hit Wizards, and wounding others. The bodies of the Vickers were not among the dead nor were their two small children found. The long held belief is that Bruno and Rainy escaped taking their children, whose names I believe were Gabriel and Guinevere, with them. There have been rumored sightings of them over the years but nothing ever confirmed."
Recitation over, McGonagall leans forward, clasping her hands together on the desk in front of her. "Now, Professor Knight, I should very much like to know where this is going."
Dante moves to the edge of his seat, feeling more uncomfortable and more exposed than he's ever felt in his life. Taking a deep breath he forces himself to speak. "What if I told you that the Vickers had a third child after that?"
"I would be interested in knowing where you came by that information."
"The third child was a boy called Garrett and I know this because I'm Garrett Vickers. Terrence and Lorraine are my parents."
Dante paused to see if Professor McGonagall wanted to interject but when she gave no obvious indication of opening her mouth, he plunged on. "I wasn't lying when I'd told Professor Dumbledore and you that I had broken away from the family, tired of living as they do. Always on the move, always changing names and having to remember a new background, nothing but secrets and lies. We've had limited contact since then and I never know when one of them will get in touch. I never even know where any of them are at any given time."
Tight lipped, she asks him, "What has prompted this revelation, Professor Knight or do you prefer Vickers?"
"Knight, please. I actually can't remember ever going by Vickers." Dante pauses a second, trying to gauge how she's taking all this but other than the tightness around her lips and a narrowing of her eyes, McGonagall is not giving much away. He moves on to answering her other, more important question. "The family has been pressuring me to rejoin them, even going so far as to issue threats. I thought it best I be the one you learned this from. I'd planned to tell Professor Dumbledore but the very night I'd come to that decision, he was murdered. The days following didn't seem the right time to say anything. I know I should have spoken to you before term began so you could find someone to fill my position should you decide to fire me or turn me over to the Ministry but you seemed to be under a great deal of stress and pressure with the funeral, parents threatening to pull their children from school before the term even began, and finding someone to fill the vacant Transfiguration spot."
"Have you ever committed any crimes?"
"No, I'm not like them." Dante pauses again before admitting, "That's not true, the part about committing any crimes I mean. When I was small, my parents had me help sometimes in what they always referred to as earning a living, supporting the family. It wasn't until I was older than I came to understand that sometimes their methods and means were not always what others would view as acceptable or legal. That's when I started to rebel and refuse to participate in any of their schemes. They finally gave up trying to make me join in because it was too much of a bother to deal with my stubbornness and arguments. Since then, all I've been guilty of is living under a variety of assumed name and not reporting them in any of the places we lived."
Dante shuts his mouth, preparing himself for whatever she says, even if it's that she's sending for someone from the Ministry right then, only to feel the need to add, "I know I should have reported them as soon as I broke away but beside the fact that they don't keep me informed of where they are, they are Mum and Dad to me and , during my life, they've never been cold blooded killers, at least to my knowledge, so that was always just a story to me. Even know that I know without doubt it's all true, it still has a surreal, story-like quality for me, a nightmarish story to be sure, but a story nonetheless."
All that said, Dante can do nothing now but wait for McGonagall to decide what to do about him and this tale he has told.
New School Year, Old Lesson (Callie, Katheryn, Marion)
Author: Saffron
Date: 12-01-12 18:18
Sitting with Callie at lunch and wondering where Hope, Katheryn, Lilith, and Savannah are Marion is looking back over her Potions notes from Monday. She looks up when Katheryn, finally joining them, asks Callie, "I thought you said you'd not even started on that yet."
"I haven't. This is from first year. The assignment is exactly the same so I am looking over what I wrote last time and figuring out how to rework it just enough that it seems like I've written something entirely new."
Marion can't see what's on the parchment Callie's got but she has an idea of what her friends are talking about. "That's for History?"
Katheryn makes a sour lemon face. "Yes. We did all four Hogwarts founders first year. Why are we doing the exact same thing again?"
Meanly snickering Callie suggests, "Maybe she was too busy getting married and having a honeymoon to bother with a new set of lessons for us."
"You know the third years are doing this same thing even though they had it last fall too?" Marion asks.
Selecting a piece of roasted chicken from a platter Katheryn asks Marion, "How do you know?"
"I overheard a third year in my house, Winifred Hicks, talking about it."
"Do you think the fourth years have it too?" Callie wonders.
Marion looks around the Great Hall for any fourth year faces familiar enough to her to go ask. Finding one of Uncle Aaron's cousins she tells her friends, "I'll go ask Liannah MacDougal."
Liannah is over at the Ravenclaw table, while the friends are at the Hufflepuff table, so Katheryn and Callie can't hear Liannah's reply when Marion approaches. They do, however, see Liannah's face take on a dark, grumpy expression. Katheryn turns to Callie, "I think that's a yes."
Marion quickly returns to confirm what the other two have guessed. "Hogwarts founders again. I won't repeat the language Liannah used when telling me what she thought of it."
Katheryn looks to the head table to see if Professor McGonagall is there but not seeing her she verbalizes for Marion and Callie the question that had just crossed her mind. "Should we say something to Professor McGonagall, or even to Professor Flitwick?"
That questions has all three of them falling silent in thought, none of them really wanting to stir up trouble but also not wanting to sit through a few, sure to be miserable weeks, sitting through History of Magic lessons that they've had to sit through already once before.
History of Magic - 4th Years
Author: Karma Davyd
Date: 12-02-12 02:50
Already there had been some grumbling that all four years were covering the founders again, however, there was reason for it. Stepping into my classroom I flicked my wand making sure that everything was prepared for my three classes today.
My third year class went of with limited grumbling, but I knew some were upset with the course material that included the founders as well, but they would find out that they wouldn't entirely be covering the same things as they'd learned each yea.
I greeted my fourth years as they were all seated at ten-forty five for their double session.
"Good morning to you all."
I flicked my wand at the blackboard. "Hogwarts Founders." Appeared upon the board. "Now I am fairly certain that all of you groaned and were quite upset about seeing this on the syllabus for this month as we did cover them last year. However, we did not go into depth about each of these four individuals. Nor did I require a presentation that will count for a large part of your grade for this term."
There were several groans and unhappy faces, but I pressed on. "It might be a bit of old information but there will be some new information as well. Including more information on the fraction between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin and how that influenced the movements of blood-status throughout time, including the impressions it had upon one of the most dangerous Dark Wizards of all time."
"We will leave Gryffindor and Slytherin until later in the month. But for now, I want to go over some timelines. You will, for extra credit be asked to create a biographical timeline for yourself. It will be due at the end of October and will have to include the information included on the handout that Adina Blackwood will be handing out."
I passed her the parchment and hand her hand out the information.
"You can include pictures if you like, you can include little trinkets from that time period if you like. Make it personal, make it something you wish to share to show your fellow students about who you are."
There was discussion about the extra credit assignment, and after a few moments I managed to get everyone focused. "Now, that is enough about that. Time to get back to the heart of things. Who can tell me one or two ways of recording history either wizarding or muggle?"
Several hands raised and I selected Rowan Westwick. "Yes Rowan?"
"A timeline."
"Very good. It is a basic way of recording history that is used both in the wizarding world and the muggle world. We will be going over a few basic types of timelines this month. Three points to Ravenclaw. Now, who else can provide me with a way of recording history?"
"Yes Kida?"
"A muggle way of recording events in history is with a video camera."
"Very nice. That is a very good way of recording history and something that most muggles do quite often. Many muggles would record the life of their child on video tape so that they have the important memories stored to continually replay things like first steps, first words, and various other firsts in their child's life. Three points to Slytherin."
The discussion continued and I went into some ancient ways of recording history: cave drawings, written word, stories and fables, and things of that nature.
When class ended at twelve-fifteen I headed home to grab a quick lunch with Dex, and to see how he was fairing after the concussion he received from the pair of stuns my mother had hit him with yesterday. I was back in my classroom well before my first years from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff began trickling in from lunch.
(Aderyn Carter) Down Time
Author: Cai Pembroke Carter
Date: 12-02-12 03:08
Currently I was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, legs curled beneath me and trying to figure out what I needed to do before going to Herbology at quarter after one. I'd already had two classes today the first of which started at nine, which wouldn't have bothered me so much if I hadn't been up til Midnight the night before and unable to fall asleep until about one thirty only to be wide awake again by six-forty five.
I wanted a nap, but that wouldn't be an option until around three when I got out of Herbology and made it back to my dorm room. This schedule was going to take some time to get used to, but hopefully it wouldn't drive me absolutely bonkers and I'd be able to actually keep my grades up and ensure that I don't get grounded or worse withdrawn and stuck with tutors again.
I'd heard rumors that History of Magic was probably going to drive me a bit nuts every September because apparently Professor Morgan has all four years covering the Hogwarts Founders. They are interesting, but interesting enough to include in all four years? Hopefully she will make it interesting or come sixth year I won't be taking it.
I shifted and went to pull out one of the books for herbology and groaned. "Damn it. It is still on my bed." Wistful glance at the rest of my soup, and quick check at the time indicated that I had enough time to go back to my room and just barely make it back to the greenhouse for class. Another three bites of my soup and the other half of my turkey club sandwich in hand and I was heading back to my dorm room to grab the missing book for Herbology and probably grab my green ink, since I was using that to take notes as well as finish a letter to my parents.
I made it to the greenhouse with three seconds to spare before the start of class.
(Luke) A Little Push
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 12-02-12 03:18
Almost everyone was excited when they saw the obstacle course installed on the pitch. It was the first Fitness & Athletics class of the year and the weather outside the castle was still relatively warm. Luke was sure that after this class everyone would be feeling like they were in the summer again.
Coach Krum welcomed them and gave some instructions about what he expected them to do in this class. After some warm up exercises it was time to try the obstacle course. Coach Krum informed the class that he would register each student's individual time and that he hoped by the end of the month everyone would be able to improve it. The first student to start was Jasper Jenkins, from Hufflepuff. Luke was impressed by his agility.
"Who's next?" Coach Krum asked.
His cousin Edgar volunteered and Luke watched him as he passed all the obstacles. It seemed easy for him. Evelyn, who didn't want people to think she was less than her brother, went next.
Student after student started the obstacle course, but somehow Luke didn't felt capable of stepping up. He was feeling nervous and moments later he realized he was the only boy between a couple of apprehensive girls. One of them was from Ravenclaw and she was biting her nails, nervously. The other one from Hufflepuff, was encouraged by her friends and she quickly give it a try. The Ravenclaw girl, who later Luke learned her name was Sarah Edwards, quickly followed her. But he stayed where he was, as if his feet were glued to the ground.
"Everything all right?" Coach Krum came to Luke's rescue.
"I don't think I can do this…" Luke replied, looking down, ashamed. He didn't know what was happening to him. He didn't use to be afraid of anything but for some reason this obstacle course scared him. Maybe it was the climbing wall, or those barriers he had to jump. He just couldn't step up and give it a try.
Thank Merlin most of the students were chatting happily with each others instead of paying attention to him. However, Alcmene approached him, as Coach Krum was giving Luke some tips about how to handle each obstacle. Without asking permission she pulled Luke by his shirt and told him:
"Come on, Walker, I'll help you."
With reluctance, Luke followed Alcmene and he crossed obstacle after obstacle with her help. He felt Coach Krum's eyes on him and when he finally finished, he noticed he was writing down his time. Luke thought he probably did the worst time of the class and he felt bad for it. Coach Krum assured Luke he would do better next time, and he awarded 5 points to his house for his effort to finish the obstcale course. However Luke knew if it wasn't for Alcmene he would be able to do so.
When the class was over he walked with her towards the pitch.
"Thanks for the help."
"Don't mention it. We all need a little push one in a while."
(Broderick Carter) Catching a Moment
Author: Cai Pembroke Carter
Date: 12-02-12 03:23
Wednesdays were busy days for me, but not so much for Drizella who was a year behind me. She had two classes to my five, but it was alright because we caught a few moments when we could. Usually in the Common Commons due to the fact that we were in different houses and ate with our respective houses during meal times. Currently however, we'd agreed to meet in the common commons during the break I had for lunch.
We sat quietly, lost in our own thoughts for a little while on one of the loveseats in the common commons, the WWN playing something and empty plates that once held the lunch we'd shared and some sweets from Briar's.
"What are you thinking about?" Driz asked, shaking me from my thoughts and I gave her a smile.
"You, truth be told. How we got together."
She smiled and grinned. "I know, it was kinda weird, but the event that your parents helped with was definitely one that I will never forget. I'm also glad that they managed to get that stupid issue settled without too much going on that could have been bad, bad news."
"I know. Remind me to thank my parents for taking yours on as clients. Without it we wouldn't have gotten to know each other and ultimately not have started dating."
She chuckled and rested her head on my shoulder and I sighed lightly, thinking that this moment would be over soon enough when I had to venture to class.
I'd met, truly met Driz and her parents through my parents. They were clients of his parents who do legal work as well as philanthropic work around the world. Driz's parents had requested some legal work from my father and we'd met more formally, when she had to tag along with her parents, during the beginning of the summer and since vaguely known each other and seen each other around Hogwarts the term before, and eventually got to talking and ultimately I had asked her to come with me to Emrys Fest and the rest is currently history.
"You've gotta go in a minute don't you?" She said, slightly pouty, but knowing that I couldn't afford to miss any classes this term.
"Yeah. Don't wanna though." I said, equally pouty, before, after a quick check for Prefects loitering about, kissed her lips lightly.
"Go. You can't afford to get in trouble at the start of term. I'll see you after dinner?"
"Yup. Usual place." I said with a grin and with another quick kiss grabbed my bag and headed to DADA.
Secrets and Choices
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 12-02-12 08:22
Professor McGonagall sat back in her chair and mulled over Professor Knight's revelation. When he first indicated there was something he needed to tell her, she did not anticipate anything more than a minor concern or small admission of some sort. She certainly had no idea that he would confess his relation to two wanted criminals.
Her eyes fell on the morning's edition of The Daily Prophet and the allegations put forth in the Rita Skeeter article. For the briefest of moments, Professor McGonagall felt blind panic at the thought of the reporter discovering Professor Knight's secret. Skeeter seemed hell-bent on disparaging the choices Dumbledore had made in life, and Professor McGonagall could not help but worry over the possible ramifications from the article and anymore that might follow.
She worried not because she agreed with Skeeter or any parent who may come forth with a complaint about one or more staff members, but because she feared that she may not be able to protect her staff from rebuke or retribution. As she often did when she thought about what he would do, were he still alive, Professor McGonagall turned her gaze upon Dumbledore's portrait. He slept peacefully in his chair, however, and offered her no assistance.
Professor Knight cleared his throat, jarring Professor McGonagall's attention away from Dumbledore's portrait and back to the young, nervous wizard seated before her in the office. She moved forward in her chair and laced her fingers together over the surface of the desk.
"I want to thank you for your honesty," she began. "I know how difficult it must have been for you."
She paused, considering her next words carefully. "I am a firm believer that we are not our parents. We make our own choices, and forge our own paths in life. That you have chosen not to follow your parents' example sets you apart from those who cannot or will not make their own decisions and instead follow others to good or bad results. You need not fear that I think badly of you, or that your fellow staff might. As far as I am concerned, your position here at Hogwarts is not in jeopardy."
Rita Skeeter's newspaper article quickly surfaced to mind, but Professor McGonagall squashed it down when she said, "I would encourage you to speak with the authorities about what you've told me, and I hope it will come easier for you now that you have confessed the truth to me. I cannot promise you anything, but I would suspect you have nothing to fear in giving your statement."
A knock on the door startled them both.
"Yes?" Professor McGonagall called out, with an apologetic glance at Professor Knight.
Kingsley Shacklebolt poked his bald head into the office, saw Professor Knight seated opposite the Headmistress and stated, "I apologize if I'm interrupting something."
Professor McGonagall knew an opportunity when she saw one. She rose and stated, "We were just finishing. Do come in, Minister."
Dante started to rise, but Professor McGonagall held up her hand to stay him. Eyebrows raised, he sank back into his chair.
The Minister of Magic swept into the room, a copy of The Daily Prophet tucked under his arm. Professor McGonagall conjured a chair for him and placed it right next to Dante's.
"Let me get us some refreshments," she said, with the full intention of leaving Dante alone with the former auror. "Professor Knight, have you met Minister Shacklebolt? Kingsley, Dante is one of our Charms professors."
The wizards shook hands.
Professor McGonagall slipped from the room then, and met one of the Minister's aides and a security wizard on the landing. She hoped that by the time she walked to the kitchens and back, Professor Knight would have retold his story for Kingsley.
Broken Timeline
Author: Rowan Westwick
Date: 12-02-12 10:06
Rowan sat in a corner of the common room and looked over the assignments she had received in Potions and History of Magic this morning. The timeline assignment for History of Magic caused her great concern, because she wasn't ready to expose her life to her classmates, not when the life she'd lived wasn't exactly normal. What would everybody think of her if they knew that Rowan was technically older than Professor Morgan herself?
She wasn't sure but she thought that all the teachers knew about her situation. No doubt Professor Dumbledore, when he still lived, or perhaps Professor McGonagall, had debriefed them on the two "new" students who really weren't new at all. The odd reality was that Rowan and Willow's first time at Hogwarts had overlapped with some of today's professors when they'd been students themselves, though none had been their friends or even acquaintances at that time.
Rowan wondered if she could get away with fibbing parts of her timeline, but she knew that making all the details plausible might prove difficult unless she outright lied about certain things. Maybe Professor Morgan would understand if she chose to omit a few pieces of her life. Maybe Professor Morgan would take pity on her and give her a completely different assignment.
Or maybe doing the assignment wouldn't be so bad after all. Rowan found her roommates to be exceptionally nice, especially Beatrix Vanderbilt, and found it incredibly awkward skirting their questions about where she'd come from and why she hadn't been at Hogwarts all along. In doing the assignment, she could let go of the secret she was carrying, even if she was reluctant to do so. Maybe confessing all would allow her to live the rest of her life as a normal girl.
Then again, would anybody believe her? Her life seemed more like a story than reality. Maybe her classmates wouldn't talk about her being that weird girl who used to be a doll, and instead would accuse her of being a lying liar. Rowan couldn't decide which would be worse.
She sighed and checked the schedule Willow had written down for her. They had agreed to meet in the Common Commons, a room that hadn't existed the last time they had been at Hogwarts. There, Rowan intended on telling Willow about her conundrum and hoped her sister could provide her with good advice on how to proceed with Professor Morgan's timeline assignment. Perhaps then, and after making the same inquiry to the small portrait of Laurel Westwick kept on the bedside table in her dorm room, Rowan would feel comfortable in whatever decision she made.