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Is that Her?
Author: Maggie Hawthorne
Date: 01-13-13 06:40
This week had been shit, I'd started off grabbing the wrong copy of my schedule on Monday and missed two classes because I'd had to get a copy of the proper schedule so I was actually taking the classes that I needed to be taking - instead of classes that I'd already had.
I'd also added a DADA class, simply because I'd heard about the chick teaching it, she sounded like someone that I'd heard about, and I wanted to check it out. If it was her, then I'd learn a lot from her. That and every girl needed a little defense every now and then.
Sliding a hand through my hair I left Orange, messenger bag slung over my shoulder and the last half of my chocolate chip muffin in hand I headed to the DADA class. Slipping in, seeing that no one was there just yet I found a seat somewhere near the middle and front half of the room. Pulling out parchment, quill, and ink I simply let my thoughts wander.
I was pulled from my thoughts when others started filtering into the classroom as well as the teachers? Professor Howell and he introduced the woman next to him as Desdemona Diamond...I took a few moments in the quiet to study the woman. Was this the friend that Lawrence talked about?
She had the right look, punker grunge type look and it made me smile. She had style I had to admit and I reminded myself that I actually had to pay attention to the class as the professor started teaching.
The class had passed in a blur of activity, and before I realized it the class was over and I headed up to the front of the room.
"Hi Desi, right? That's what my brother calls you whenever he talks about you...."
She and the man looked at me, both raising an eyebrow wondering just what in the hell I was doing.
"I just wanted to say hi, I'm Lawrence's sister, Maggie. Anyway, I know you've got another class starting and I've gotta get to my next class...I'll see you Monday..."
With that I headed out, grabbing my bag on the way and wondering if I'd just made myself look like a fool.
The Thieves
Author: Josie
Date: 01-13-13 06:40
More and more I found myself spending time at my little office at Hogwarts. The furniture was antique and it smelled like ink and parchment everywhere. I could hear the wind blowing outside the window and I had lit the fireplace, giving to the book I was reading an orange tone. From time to time I could hear some students crossing the corridors. Most of their voices were cheerful: the weekend was coming. I heard someone running and then Argus Filch's protests from my half open door.
I flipped the page of my book; my fingers touching the smooth texture of an illustration that had a circle inside what it seemed to be like a diamond. I pushed a lock of my hair aside, trying to read the Latin words bellow it. The door knocked before I could decipher anything and closing the heavy volume in front of me, I allowed my visitor to enter.
"Professor Fanshawe?"
Argus Filch stepped into my office pulling a pair of students into the room. One of them had glasses and looked around somewhat scared. The other had his hands on his pockets and did not seem at all preoccupied to be here.
"I caught these two thieves breaking into your classroom. Your cabinet with your elixirs and supplies was open. I believe some of your little flasks are missing…"
"We did not steal anything," the more relaxed boy said in a raged tone looking at Filch. "We were just looking, right Titus? We were curious…"
The boy named Titus nodded.
"Liars! I can smell the lie, Professor. Check their pockets. I know there stole something…"
I looked from the students to Argus. This was the first time I was being confronted with a situation like this. The class I taught was composed by older students and so far I never had to deal with disciplinary problems before.
"Thank you Mr. Filch. I will deal with them from here."
The caretaker did not like to be dismissed and he even told me if I needed help thinking about a detention for the two little thieves that he would love to help me. He dragged himself away from the office and the door closed with a click. I ordered the two students to have a sit and I did the same. First I asked them their names. The boy with the glasses was Titus Nott and the other one was named Anton Avery. They were both first years, from the Slytherin house.
"Now would you please be kind to give me back whatever supplies you stole from my cabinet?"
Ashamed, Titus Nott placed a little flask with a yellow liquid on the desk. On the other hand Anton Avery was carrying not one but three flasks, inside his pockets. He seemed to be upset with himself for being caught and for having to give up of his precious loot.
"Explain to me Mr. Avery, what use you would give to such large amount of troll blood?"
"That's troll blood? I thought it was dragon's blood…They can be sold for a fortune..."
Titus was trying not to laugh due to his partner in crime's mistake, but he was not doing a very good job with it.
"What about you, Mr. Nott? What could you possible want Ogre's urine for?"
Now it was Anton who smiled, while Titus looked with disgust to the little flask he had been carrying in his pocket before.
"Stealing supplies from a teacher is a very serious thing. Even if Mr. Flich hasn't caught you, I keep an inventory of those supplies and eventually I would notice some of them were missing."
"We were just curious, Professor. It's not fair that the older students have Alchemy classes and we don't. My mother told me all about how it's possible to transform any metal into gold, or how alchemists can change one element to another, if they want."
"We thought you might have some interesting things inside that cabinet, Professor," Titus added.
"I should have guessed…" Anton muttered, speaking more to himself than to myself. "There wasn't any locket in the door and an Alohamora spell was enough to open it."
"Are you doing to take points from us?" Titus asked, preoccupied.
"I am afraid I have to. You could have come to me if you wanted to learn something about the subject. Or even join the Alchemy club. Stealing is very serious and it is not tolerable in this school. I am going to speak with the head of your house about this and Professor Snape will determinate what your detention is. I will remove 15 points from Slytherin as well. "
I dismissed both Anton and Titus not without sending them back to the alchemy classroom in order to return to the cabinet what they have stolen. Anton looked at Titus amused as he used the edge of his robe to pick up the flask, a disgusted expression in his face.
Once the two boys were gone I sighed, looking at my book. I needed to go to the dungeons and talk to Severus bringing him the bad news from his students. The reading would have to happen some other time.
A Spot of Bad Luck
Author: Jolyon
Date: 01-13-13 08:20
Jolyon slipped into the warmth of the barn, where he intended on holding this afternoon's Care of Magical Creatures classes. Although it was sunny outside, the air was rather chilly and an occasional wind blew, making the temperature feel even cooler than it already was. He stripped off his cloak, folded it and draped it over the back of his chair, and then set about preparing for his first class of the afternoon.
A short while later, his fifth year students entered, cheeks, noses and ears red from the biting cold. They took their seats in the rows of desks currently occupying the middle of the barn and took out their notes from Monday's class, when they had taken a field trip to the Pest Sub-Division at the Ministry of Magic.
Jolyon took his students on field trips often, since he couldn't always bring certain magical creatures to them, and also because he wanted them to get a chance to see the various aquariums and zoos that catered to wizards and wizarding creatures.
Getting there and back required port keys, which Dumbledore had previously arranged for Jolyon to get. Luckily, Professor McGonagall approved of the field trips… for now, anyway. Now Jolyon made arrangements for the port keys himself, but always after receiving permission from McGonagall first.
"On Monday we discussed bundimuns and the Ministry of Magic's Pest Sub-Division," Professor Kent began. "Who remembers how to rid a house of a small infestation of bundimuns? Yes, Charisma?"
"Scouring Charms can get rid of small infestations," Charisma said.
"And how do we deal with large colonies of bundimuns?" Professor Kent asked.
"We don't," Charisma replied. "We call on the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."
"Yes, very good. Five points to Gryffindor. What are the different divisions in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?"
The class worked together to list them all, finally focusing on the Pest Sub-Division, also known as the Pest Advisory Bureau and Pest Advisory Board. On Monday, they had learned that the Pest Sub-Division dealt with serious home infestations of not only bundimuns, but other wizarding pests like chizpurfles and nogtails.
Finally, Professor Kent presented a bundimun behind glass. The class had already seen the specimens the Ministry of Magic had on hand, both alive and dead. The bundimun in the terrarium was very much alive and secreted a bright green goo that threatened to melt the glass, despite the protective charms Jolyon had placed on it. The air vents on top of the terrarium allowed the stench of decay commonly associated with bundimuns to slowly filter into the room. Several students wrinkled their noses.
"A bundimun is a good reason why you should keep your rooms clean," Professor Kent said with a smile. "They feed on dirt and will eventually destroy your house. They also spit out a––"
There was a piercing shriek. The bundimun's acid dissolved the glass and shot a small stream directly at Drizella Ratcliffe. It struck her arm, burning through the sleeve of her robes.
Professor Kent acted swiftly, firing a scouring charm at the bundimun. Its many eyes rolled into the back of its head and it keeled over, dead.
Drizella continued to shriek, her cries disturbing the other magical creatures in the barn.
"Johanna, please escort Drizella to the Hospital Wing and inform Madam Pomfrey about what happened."
Johanna nodded and immediately took Drizella from the barn. Drizella's shrieks grew fainter and fainter as they moved across the grounds.
"Bundimuns typically spit acid when they feel threatened," Professor Kent explained, carefully scouring away the traces of acid that remained around Drizella's desk and the melted terrarium. "As you have just witnessed, they can cause serious injury."
"I'm definitely going to keep my room clean," Eric Ling whispered to Blake Holloway. Blake nodded in agreement.
Professor Kent dismissed class early, using the added time before his next class to make sure no traces of acid remained in the barn and to dispose of the bundimun's body.
Demonstration
Author: Desdemona Diamond
Date: 01-13-13 09:51
The week had passed quickly for me. I was having a great time 'teaching' at the collage. Orion was having a better time since I stopped throwing him around. He started to look like he was starting to enjoy himself. I'd like to think it was because he enjoyed watching me work.
So far, no student had volunteered more than once. A few students volunteered on a dare from their friends. They didn't go the second time someone dared them however. The ones not brave enough still had a good time. Probably the most they've had in a DADA class.
No professor was lined up to start next week, so Orion was to continue teaching the class. We had decided that we would move from demonstration and basic instruction to practical instruction. Meaning we'd actually let them practice basic defensive maneuvers. It'll be fun letting them beat each other up.
It also turned out that Lawrence had a sister, and she had decided to take Orion's class. Apparently he'd spoken of me to her, and left an impression. Maggie, as she said her name was, only briefly introduced herself before taking off for a class. I'd have to go find her later and talk a little, but I had a class to start first.
The class passed as normal, until the last five minutes. A young man in the middle of the class, near one of the isles stood up and asked, "Why are you teaching this? You'd just get stunned by the time you got close enough to use this stuff." Several students seemed to nod in agreement.
"Allow me to demonstrate," I said. I pulled out a kickboxing helmet I had brought, just in case. I tossed it to the young man, "Put it on."
He laughed a little, but put it on. A quiet murmur rose from the other students. Once he had the helmet on he asked, "Now what?"
"Your wand in your pocket?" I asked him. Orion moved next to me.
"Yeah," He said, a little confused. Orion put his hand on my arm, having figured out what was about to happen.
"No worries, I got this," I told him. After a moment, he stepped back. I turned to the boy, "Ok. Pull out your wand and stun me."
"What?" He asked a little surprised.
"Go for it," I told him. He paused a little, and looked around like he couldn't believe what I had told him. He finally went for his wand. I charged him like an attack dog. He managed to get his wand out, and pointed at me.
"STU-" He never finished the word as my right hand connected with the chin pad of the helmet, knocking him silly. My left hand grabbed his wrist, and I pulled him across me down to my knee, catching him before he hit the floor. I placed him gently on his stomach, his wand hand bent behind him. The only sounds for the next few seconds were excited whispers.
"Speed," Orion started, "Is why they work. Surprise is what makes them effective. That's why I'm teaching you this, to give you one more way to defend yourself if you need to."
The young man started getting up, pulling his arm back to help him get up.
"You ok?"
"Yeah…" He answered, putting his wand in his pocket. He took the helmet off, and handed it to me.
"If there are no further questions," Orion said, "Class dismissed."
A Meeting Between Enemies
Author: Andreva
Date: 01-13-13 11:49
Andreva was hesitant to open the door to the Three Broomsticks. The pub was where she was supposed to be meeting Adrian. What if friends of her father saw her meeting with a Snodgrass? She would never hear the end of it and she would officially become the family's black sheep. She couldn't bare to let any of that happen - she couldn't bare to have her father look down at her. But what if Adrian could truly help her as Alicia said? What would happen then? Would her father still denounce her if he found out? Or what if it was a trick, a play in the game of chess between the McCrays and Snodgrasses? Would her father deem her weak for playing into it? She had no choice: if he could help her then damn the consequences. In the split second that followed she frantically opened the door. Her heart started to beat at a faster place as she studied the room to find Adrian. He sat in a corner, a typical move for a Snodgrass. She slowly approached him.
"Andy how are you?" He stood and gave her a hug. "You still go by Andy, don't you?"
"Yes, it's still Andy." She replied, taking the seat across from him. "I'm good, thanks for asking."
"Well it's been a long time...over four years to be exact." He leaned back into his seat and watched her for a few moments until a realization came over him. "I've already ordered for the both of us. You don't mind do you?"
Now that was typical Snodgrass, always taking charge and doing things without asking. It was one of their major faults...one of which that made life at Hogwarts with them unbearable. She always hated it when people do things on her behalf without consulting her. But nevertheless she allowed her voice get the best of her.
"No, not at all." The next few moments remained in silence and in an attempt to break the ice she asked, "What have you been up to since graduation?"
"Many things actually. But nothing that's interesting." Adrian replied, looking deep in thought. "I toured the muggle world for awhile. Then I started helping out my father with the business." He paused. "Alicia tells me you are an excellent negotiator."
"I would like to think so since it's a requirement for the job. And how exactly do you know Alicia?"
The question of how her assistant so happened to be an acquaintance of a Snodgrass had been the subject of her imagination. It was either a strange coincidence or a way for them to get dirt on the McCrays. It wasn't like she announced to the world family matters anyway. Her father would have a field day if he were to discover this little fact.
"A friend of the family." Adrian answered. "Why? Jealous?"
Andreva scoffed. "Me? Jealous? I'd rather die! Anyway my father would never approve."
He shrugged. "Nor would mine but neither of our lives are theirs. And it's been centuries since then."
She rolled her eyes. Even with her father's approval she would never think about it. With a Snodgrass? Never! They were too...well Snodgrassy. She needed to change the subject entirely.
"So Alicia tells me you might be able to help me?"
"I might. That is if you let me."
"Yeah just how will you help me?"
"By opening your mind to the truth." Adrian's eyes held a twinkle. His eyes briefly moved across the room. "Here comes the butterbeer I ordered."
The conversation became dead as Madam Rosemerta gave them the drinks. They both gave the owner of the pub their thanks. They waited for her to be out of hearing distance before resuming the conversation. Before Adrian could speak again, Andreva took the moment of silence as a chance to speak.
"What truth? And how do you plan to open my mind?" Her words were demanding and she certainly was in no mood to let him play around a direct answer.
"I will start by showing you just what the Ministry is doing. Then everything else will be totally up to you." Adrian's words ended with a grin. He lifted his butterbeer up to his lips, never once taking his eyes off of her.
Luck Runs Out
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 01-13-13 13:26
Only a few customers browsed the shelves at Twice Told Tales at the moment, a far cry from the many who had flocked to the used bookstore during their lunch hours. Currently, Lysander worked the counter alone and used the lull between customers to browse a catalogue for an auction featuring old and rare books.
He didn't look up right away when the doorbell chimed, instead circling a book of interest in the catalogue. When he finally raised his head, his eyes met those of Kristos Fox, who stared at him calculatingly and with the hint of an evil smile on his lips. It was then that Lysander realized that Kristos knew.
A customer stepped forward with an armful of books. Lysander distractedly checked her out, pricing one of the books lower than intended, and sent her on her way without so much as a "Have a nice day."
After the customer left, Kristos sauntered up to the counter and leaned on it with his right forearm.
"Tell me, Lysander. Why did you do it?"
Kristos appeared cool, collected and confident. He knew that he would unsettle Lysander and reveled at the thought, but he had to approach everything just right or Charlotte might not ever accept Aralyn as her mother.
"Do what?" Lysander asked, feigning innocence. His heart felt as if it would beat right out of his chest.
"Does she know?" Kristos asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Kristos leaned in close and lowered his voice so that only Lysander could hear him. "Bullshit. I know the truth, Lysander. I know that Charlotte is my niece."
Lysander tensed and instinctively felt for his wand.
"Ah, ah, ah," Kristos drawled, with a shake of his head. "If anything happens to me, or to my sister, then an envelope I charmed will find itself in the hands of the authorities. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you? I'm not sure a pretty boy like you could handle Azkaban."
Lysander didn't want to go to prison. He hesitated and then asked, "What do you want?"
Kristos felt a presence behind him and saw that another customer had approached, bearing a load of books in her arms. He stepped away to allow Lysander to check her out and then resumed his position at the counter once she had left the shop.
"I'm not a fool to think that Charlotte will happily leave you behind," Kristos went on, "and unlike you, my sister and I do not plan on tampering with her memories to make her think otherwise. We want to earn her trust the right way."
"I never tampered with her memories," Lysander growled. "Your sister left her when she was an infant. Charlotte has no memory of her being her mother."
"I don't deny that my sister wasn't ready to be a parent when she had Charlotte, but you had no right to make her think that Charlotte belonged to another."
"I had my reasons," Lysander stiffly replied, thinking about how he had overheard Aralyn and Kristos make plans to get rid of him during his and Charlotte's visit to Santa Cruz several years ago.
"Here's what's going to happen," Kristos said, pointing his index finger on the counter top. "You're going to pack a bag for Charlotte. She will stay the weekend with us. You will tell her the truth about her mother, and you will tell her that it's important that she get to know Aralyn better. You will influence her to give us a chance."
"And if I don't? And if she won't?" Lysander questioned.
"Then I guess the authorities will knock on your door."
"I can't make her do something she doesn't want to do," Lysander spat.
"I'm betting she's a daddy's girl who will do whatever he tells her to, and I'm betting if you tell it to her right, she will go most willingly. After all, I'm sure she wishes she had a mother."
Lysander felt himself getting back into a corner. If he didn't follow through with Kristos's demands, then he would go to prison. If he did something to harm Kristos and Aralyn, then he would go to prison. Either way he would lose Charlotte.
And if he packed a bag for Charlotte and sent her off with Kristos and Aralyn, then she was lost to him too, for Lysander had no doubt in his mind that Kristos and Aralyn would do everything they could to cut him from his daughter's life.
"Tick tock, tick tock," Kristos said. "What's it going to be, Lysander?"
Endhope Abbey
Author: Phyllida
Date: 01-13-13 23:04
A dark line of clouds marked the end of the moor. This road, leading her across the barren, rocky stretch of land, led straight for the great, hulking black smear on the horizon, appearing, for all the world, like an immense outcrop of rock, occupied by stocky, tuft-maned Exmoor ponies. The earth fell away at some point behind the great structure; the wind carried the salt tang of the sea across the moor.
It toppled the hood of her robes, and Phyllida shivered. The wind was her only companion; she had not found Ptolemy where she had left him at the Leaky Cauldron. She was certain he was traversing central London in that unnerving, street-savvy way of cats, towards Knightsbridge, and home. As resentful as she was at having been left companionless on this latest misadventure, she could not blame Ptolemy entirely for deserting her vagrant company in favour of warm, familiar home.
Perhaps that was why she was trudging willingly towards Endhope Abbey, the bleak house on the moor; the opus of Auberon Grimshaw, the dream of her mother, Phryne. It was bleakly amusing, this sombre homecoming. Endhope seemed, more than ever, like her destiny; her fate was intertwined with the dark ivy strangling those ancient stones.
The road had seemed deserted by Muggles, but the drone of a car engine caught her attention. She glanced behind her, but the road was empty for miles in the absent distance. A shadow passed overhead; horrified, she watched as a large automobile cut across the wind, and made a rough landing on a smooth patch of heather. It drove on all four wheels towards her, as she stood, immobile, her face waxen with shock.
The pale face of Tiberius Nott appeared from the window, one gloved hands on the wheel, the other firmly holding the clutch. The car's radio was tuned to a Wizarding station, playing an old ballad about a witch with golden hair who had cursed her muggle lover when she found out he had abandoned her.
"Need a lift, love?"
She glanced suspiciously between the long, black car and its occupant.
"It is still a long way to the Abbey, assuming that is where you were planning on going. If not…well, I am in a generous mood. Tell me your destination, and I shall drive you there."
She glanced at the bleak horizon and the gathering storm, conceding defeat. "Fine, as long as you keep to the ground."
Tiberius laughed. "That's how Muggles drive. Where is the fun in that?" He sent her a devious look. "Don't you trust me?"
"No," she answered unequivocally. "And, if you try anything, don't forget I still have your wand."
He shot her a disingenuous, sideways smile.
She sighed, folding the edges of her robes in her lap. The dark smear on the horizon was growing larger as they sped down the straight road. "Dare I ask how you came into the possession of a Muggle car?"
"Not just any Muggle car, my dear. It's a 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom. My great-grandfather, Cantankerus Nott, was what you could call a hypocrite. He owned many cars. The same year he acquired this model, he wrote the Pure-Blood Directory. Needless to say, he never drove his cars in public."
Phyllida pursed her lips. "This is abominable."
"The fact that he owned a Muggle car, or that he never showed it to anyone outside the family?"
The car turned left into a long driveway.
"The latter," she replied. "There's nothing wrong with Muggle inventions."
"Well, everyone has their little secrets. And I am not surprised about your tolerance towards Muggles. Didn't you spend part of your summer at a Muggle village?"
The ballad on the radio had changed; now, a lovelorn wizard sang about a Veela's enchanting eyes. Phyllida leaned into the soft, leather seat, her arms crossed, completely defeated.
Neither of them spoke for a moment with the exception of the lamenting voice coming from the radio; the jilted wizard elegised his broken heart.
The rain had started to fall. Tiberius activated the windshield. He seemed familiar with the car's controls. Clearly, he drove it frequently. Finally, he spoke:
"I know how that is, when you feel like you are not in control of things. It can be very frustrating."
"How would you know?" she asked petulantly. "You are entirely independent. You rely on no-one."
He did not reply, because the Rolls-Royce approached the tall, forged iron gates of the Abbey. The house itself could be seen far away, a dark mass almost obscured by the thick curtain of the rain. Tiberius studied the gates, carefully.
"Is something wrong?" Phyllida asked.
"I usually fly above them. The gates haven't been used for years so they are probably rusty. May I have my wand back now?"
Grudgingly, she passed him the wand. "Go on, then."
They passed under the Jacobean ironwork gate, overlooked by the Grimshaw motto, Omnia Vincit Sanctimonia; 'Purity Conquers All'. Phyllida pursed her lips grimly. Purity had not saved her family from poverty. The house on the moor had passed from her family to the Notts two generations earlier. It was her mother's most enduring desire to see Endhope belong to its rightful owners once more.