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Potions Exam & Lunch
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 02-23-13 07:43
The laboratory is deathly quiet, but for the bubbling cauldrons and the sounds of quills scratching on parchment. The students enrolled in Advanced Potions I are in the middle of their final exam, among them Fritz, who stayed up well past his normal bedtime last night to prepare for this afternoon's examination.
"Time," says the professor, indicating that the examinees must move to the next station arranged in the laboratory.
Fritz picks up his exam parchment, his quill already in hand, and moves to the right, where there is an assortment of fragrant ingredients laid out on the desk and a small pewter cauldron simmering with amber liquid inside its smooth, silver walls.
Each station is designed for three-five questions, some as simple as requiring a one-word answer, while others require much more detail in the form of a short essay. Fritz makes short work of identifying the ingredients and the potion simmering in the pewter cauldron. He lists the steps for making the potion, including the specific techniques for cutting and stirring which often have a major impact on whether or not a potion is successfully brewed.
Another question asks what potion would result if a certain ingredient were substituted, while the final ingredient asks what would make the entire concoction volatile. Fritz jots down his final word in his answer when the professor once again announces that it is time to move to the next station.
Half an hour later, Fritz hands in his exam, feeling confident that he earned an Outstanding. Potions has always been Fritz's best subject.
He grabs his things and exits the Potions Lab, glad to have most of his final exams behind him. The only exam that remains is the one for Survey of Art History I, the elective course Fritz chose to take this term.
Not having eaten yet, Fritz decides to stop by one of the cafeterias. Some of the potions had smelled good enough to eat, so Fritz is certainly hungry. He enters Orange, queues up at the serving line, where he spots Coco several students ahead of him. She doesn't notice him at first, because she's flipping through notecards. She tucks them into the pocket of her jeans to address the serving witch behind the counter.
After Fritz has his tray, he finds Coco at a table near a window charmed with a view of the grounds. She flips through her notecards between bites.
"Will I be a bother if I join you?" Fritz asks.
Coco looks up with a start and then shakes her head. "No, not at all. Sit."
Fritz sits like an obedient boyfriend and opens up his carton of pumpkin juice. "How goes the studying?"
"It goes," Coco remarked. "What have you got left?"
"Art History," Fritz replies. He plans on spending the rest of his spare time memorizing artists and their works. "Want some help with that?"
Coco hands over her notecards, so that Fritz can quiz her over lunch.
Location Unknown: Wishes
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 02-23-13 10:10
"Why haven't you found her yet?"
Hattie looked almost comical. Her appearance was that of a young boy, but her posture and expression was that of an irritated, impatient woman.
Meadow fought the urge to roll her eyes. "You know I can't go anywhere without the risk of getting caught. I'm on the lam, just like you, and we don't have the luxury of disguises, do we?"
Hattie actually stamped her foot. "You are always making excuses, Meadow. You can't do this, you can't do that. What exactly can you do?"
"Haven't I already done enough for you, Hattie?" Meadow retorted, not for the first time. It was the same argument over and over again. Hattie had grown extremely tired of hiding out in the woods, and she loathed the childish body in which her soul currently resided. She was like a caged animal, desperate for freedom.
Hattie turned and walked to the window, where she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Fairchild will help me. I was so very loyal to the Dark Lord, even without the Mark burned into my forearm. Surely his protégé will reward me for my good services."
Meadow thought it best not to point out that while Hattie's effort to help Lord Voldemort had started out well, she had failed in the end. Project 25 had been an incredible disaster. The years it took to cultivate Voldemort's unsuspecting soldiers seemed wasteful in retrospect, since after their activation, the 25 witches and wizards had done little for the cause before everything unraveled. This was largely due to Ethan Somerset, who Hattie herself had handpicked for the project.
Instead Meadow asked, "Find you a new body, you mean?"
Hattie whirled back around and snapped, "Yes, of course that's what I mean. I'm sure she has the ability to find my book and make things right again. So I ask you once more, why haven't you found her yet?"
Meadow sighed and answered, "Yannick and Kastor have been making inquiries, but she's not been easy to track down, as you might imagine."
"Then how is she recruiting?" Hattie asked, annoyed. "Rumor has it, her numbers have grown since she first made herself the Dark Lord's successor."
"Probably from within," Meadow guessed. "Hattie, even if we do find her, do you really think your situation will be much improved? She's probably living in some ramshackle hideaway too."
"That may be true, but she is growing powerful. I wish to be by her side."
Hattie turned back to the window. The thick woods made it seem darker than it actually was, though the sun had already begun to make its descent across the sky. Here and there, flocks of snow managed to break through the crowded, bare branches overhead, dusting the forest floor white.
"I don't want to be here anymore, doing nothing," Hattie murmured. "I want to be out there, doing something."
Meadow got up from the sofa in which she'd been sitting and came up behind Hattie, gently placing her hands on the boy-witch's shoulders. "We will find her, Hattie," she said. "It may not be today or tomorrow, but it will happen, and then you will get everything you have ever wanted. Freedom. Power. Revenge."
A slow smile crept across Hattie's face.
Skeeter's Really Reaching (AJ)
Author: Furnella Hodfuffer
Date: 02-23-13 11:18
When AJ's fifth year doubles ends Mariposa squeezes past the exiting students. Surprised to see her AJ says as much. "I wasn't expecting you. Nothing wrong I hope."
With fifth years still leaving and seventh years trickling in he gives her a quick, light peck on the cheek after which she says, "I completed the exam quicker than I thought I would. I don't know why I was so worried."
AJ refrains from saying he'd told her not to be so worked up. Though he's not had exams of his own in a very long while he still remembers how stressed he would be leading up to a test and since becoming a professor he's been witness to everything from the overly laidback student who exhibits no outward concern about writing an important exam or taking an oral one to the student who has to be sent to hospital wing because of an inability to breath at the thought of a ten point quiz. AJ would like to think he'd have the proper balance between concern and not letting that concern consume him were he to take some university courses, something he's been thinking of doing.
Before he can offer up other words, something more comforting or congratulatory, or both, Mariposa continues. "I know you've another class in a few minutes. I came to ask if you'd seen this."
She pulls a copy of the Daily Prophet from her purse, unfolding it to reveal a small article well towards the back of the paper. AJ glances at it then nods. "She's really reaching."
The bold faced type, which is at least small in size given the article's position and length reads Hogwarts Professor Charged With Assault. The blip after it names Asterjoylian Hodfuffer as the professor and states he was once arrested for assault on one Russ Kegg. The article glosses over the fact that they were both just 16 and that Russ had actually instigated the fight. It was his father who insisted AJ be charged because Russ came off the worse for wear. What the short article does do is make it sound as though the fight was over Stella Hobday, who had left AJ for Russ. That she left AJ, as in divorced him, several years after the schoolyard fight, and that she did not immediately turn around and marry Russ is apparently beside whatever point Rita Skeeter is hoping to make.
Mariposa leaves the paper on AJ's desk. "You and I know she's reaching as do most others. It's the few who don't bother with the facts that might create a problem, not just for you but for Minerva. Those people aren't going to care that she didn't hire you or any of the others who've been written about. All they're going to care about is that she's not cut you all loose and replaced you with others who are viewed as upstanding witches and wizards."
"You do realize that Skeeter only decided to go after me with something this idiotic because she's envious of my success as an author?"
Mariposa offers a small smile. She pats a hand to his chest. "No matter her reasons I am thankful there isn't more for her to expose about you. There isn't is there?"
"Not unless a picture of me and some others from fifth year skinny dipping surfaces somewhere," he grins in return.
"Most of your class seems to be here. I should go and let you get started. Don't forget, I've a study group coming over this evening. I'll have sandwiches and the like but if you want to eat elsewhere I can't blame you."
"Maybe I'll see if Declan wants to grab a bite somewhere."
AJ walks Mariposa to the classroom door. She waves at the students, telling them goodbye then AJ steps into the hall with her for a brief kiss. Turning his mind to the seventh year's lesson for the day, AJ steps back into the room, ready to get started.
Helping Roddrick
Author: Travis
Date: 02-23-13 13:00
With no patients to tend at the moment and with not that long left in the work day, alone on the MacFusty's Pets side of the business Indigo has just finished cleaning the holding areas, he dislikes thinking of them as cages, for the handful of puppies and kittens currently available when the bell over the door tinkles. Turning in the general direction of the entrance he calls out, "Be right there."
Though he'd used his wand and some cleaning spells, mainly Scourgify, to clean the cages he checks his clothes to make sure he'd not gotten anything on him then washes his hands. Stepping into view, eyes darting around for signs of the customer Indi stops in his tracks when he sees both his mother and stepfather. Steeling himself for what he's sure is another round of I have a lovely girl for you to meet he pastes on a smile. "Mum, Roddrick, nice of you to stop by."
Morticia offers him her cheek before saying, "We're here on official business, Indigo."
"Official business?"
"I'd like to get my step-niece either a cat or a dog," Roddrick supplies.
"You have a step-niece?"
Morticia gives Indi one of her suffering looks. "Really, darling, do you never listen to anything I say? I told you that Lacey remarried and gained a daughter. Aurora."
Indi vaguely remembers hearing something about a Aurora but thinking this was another female his mum was wanting him to date he'd promptly tuned her out. As he's not about to admit that he nods agreeably. "Right, I do remember now you mentioning her." To Roddrick he asks, "Are you thinking a small pet or does it not matter?"
"Aurora has recently quit her job and is moving to Britain. She's going to be working part-time and attending St. Emrys. A pet who will be a good companion is what I was thinking."
"Does she have a place yet to live? A yard?"
Morticia gives one of this sniffs that Indi recognizes as one of his mother's way of expressing disdain. "Though she has money enough for a proper residence, she's gotten a tiny bungalow with a miniscule yard."
"Then either a cat or a small dog. Do you know if Aurora has a preference?"
"She likes both," Roddrick says with a shake of his head.
Indigo shows the couple the kittens and small dog breeds he has in the shoppe but tells them, "Unless this is pressing, I can be keeping an eye out for you or get you whatever you specify."
After fielding a number of questions from both his mum and Roddrick, Indi helps them settle on a sweet but somewhat odd looking kitten that is a cross between a Munchkin and a Persian. As Indi's packing up a few items Roddrick's picked out for the cat, now in a carrier, Morticia bestows a smile on her son of the sort that generally comes with something he doesn't want to hear. As he braces himself, his mother announces. "Remember to come alone to Lisianthus's birthday dinner tomorrow. I have our numbers rounded out perfectly."
Hiding a grimace he dutifully replies, "Yes, Mum," before getting her and Roddrick ushered out of the shoppe before she can fill him in on exactly who she's got picked for his date and probably one for Travis as well.
Alone once more, Indi returns to tidying, giving his attention to some of the fish tanks along one wall.
Mirror, Mirror
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 02-24-13 10:17
The old witch at the counter painstakingly counted out the coins necessary to pay for the nineteenth-century wizarding literature she wished to purchase. The books, three in all, were original editions and in excellent condition.
The elderly customer removed a coin at a time from her dragon-skin coin purse, much to Lysander's annoyance. He had little patience these days and was short-tempered more often than not.
Just when he began drum his fingers across the counter's surface, Julian interceded. He placed a hand on Lysander's shoulder and said, "I'm here to relief you," which was code for, "Take a break and adjust your attitude."
Lysander took the hint and left without a word. He went upstairs to his flat, which seemed awfully empty without Charlotte around and with Julian no longer living there either. He went straight to Charlotte's room and lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. At some point, Charlotte had expressed an interest in the stars, so he and Julian had surprised her with glow-in-the-dark stars that adhered to the ceiling. It was daylight, so they didn't glow, but Lysander could see where Charlotte had stuck them (with Daddy's and Uncle Julian's help, of course).
He stared at the star clusters and then rolled on his side, sliding a hand under Charlotte's pillow. To his surprise, he found something hard underneath it. Lysander propped himself up on his arm and pulled out the object, which he discovered to be one of the obsidian mirrors Aunty Synn had given Charlotte. For a brief moment, Lysander wondered why Charlotte had stuck it under her pillow and where its mate might be, but his thoughts were immediately forgotten when he realized that the image in the mirror's polished surface wasn't his own.
He couldn't quite make out what he was looking at. The edges were cloaked in darkness, with a thin strip of light right down the center. Lysander stared at the image but seemed unable to decipher it, when the strip suddenly widened and a glimpse of Charlotte appeared. Lysander gasped aloud, but Charlotte did not seem to realize she was being watched.
She picked up the other mirror stashed in her bag and set it aside to rummage for another pair of mittens, having somehow lost one from her other set. Charlotte had been playing out in the snow, something that got her out of the house and kept her mind off of missing her family. Either Aralyn or Kristos always went out with her, for fear that she might try to run away and find her way back to Lysander.
Charlotte found her mittens and left the room, leaving the other mirror out in the open. Lysander now had a glimpse of the ceiling in her room, which wasn't decorated with stars as far as he could tell. The textured ceiling was painted white. He wished he could see more, since the view of the ceiling didn't really give him an idea of her living conditions.
He wanted to call out to her, but he wasn't sure if the mirror worked like that, and he was also afraid that Aralyn or Kristos would hear him and take the mirror away from Charlotte. He stared at the image for a long time, and then turned the mirror over and slid it back under Charlotte's pillow.
(Alanna) Annoyance
Author: Beck
Date: 02-24-13 14:50
Alanna moved into the small lounge in the office and fixed herself a small pot of English breakfast tea. While it brewed, she sat down at the table and opened up the binder in which she kept all her wedding ideas. She and Jared hadn't yet set a date, neither being in a particular hurry to get married. In the meantime, Alanna took note of what she liked. Her binder was full of clippings of hairstyles, dresses, floral arrangements and other decor she thought might work for the big day, whenever it may be.
After a few minutes, she got up to check on the tea. Until that moment, she had been the only person in the lounge. When she turned back around, Reed Wycombe stood in the doorway with his hulking bodyguard Bronco MacDuff visible behind him. Alanna ignored them both and returned to the table.
Reed entered the lounge and went to the sink to wash his hands. He made an awful lot of noise in a short amount of time: water splashing, cabinet doors slamming, china clinking. Alanna tried to tune him out, but the fact that the wizard doing it was Reed and not somebody else made it all the more difficult for her.
They had not had any altercations and only limited conversation since Reed had first started showing up to work with Bronco. As far as Alanna knew, Reed avoided confrontation and counted his blessings that Desi Diamond was on a longterm assignment that kept her out of the office. Alanna didn't think there was any reason for him to keep his shadow around, but she wasn't about to voice her opinion to him on the matter.
To her disappointment, he sat down at her table and started unpacking a sandwich he had picked up from the cart in the Atrium. The excessive crinkling of the plastic foil finally forced her attention on him.
"Am I disturbing you, Beck?" Reed asked, a hint of snark evident in his tone.
Alanna fixed him with a steely glare and them got up to check her teapot again. With her back turned to him she asked, "Why should anything you do be of any concern to me?"
She poured herself a cup and added a drop of milk, swirling the mixture with a small spoon.
"Don't be such a tease."
Alanna returned to the table and said, "You're out of line."
"Going to slap me?"
"I'm not sure your babysitter would allow it."
Reed's whole expression darkened. "He's not my minder, he's my protector."
Alanna quirked her eyebrows and returned to perusing the pages in her binder. For only half a second, it was silent in the lounge. Then Reed asked, "So you're really going to go through with it, are you?"
Alanna chose not to respond.
"I don't know what you see in him."
"The only part of him you're intimately familiar with is his fist," Alanna replied. "Don't presume to know why I love him."
"Why do you love him?"
"What business is that of yours?"
"Why are you always so defensive when I ask you a simple question?"
Alanna's tea was still very hot. Otherwise, she would have drained it on the spot and left the lounge. Instead, she shut her binder and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.
"From the day I started as an intern, you were nothing but a condescending prick towards me. You've never given me a reason to be kind, and I always have to be on guard around you. Get this through your head, Reed. We're not friends. We'll never be friends. I'm not going to have a friendly, casual conversation with you. Not now. Not ever."
She started to get up, taking her cup and saucer with her, when Reed said, "I can help you with your Petals problem, you know."
"She doesn't have a case," Alanna retorted, referring to the old witch protesting the existence of the strip club in Hogsmeade.
"Whatever you say, Beck. Whatever you say."
Alanna tucked her binder out of her arm and carried it and her cup and saucer out of the lounge, past the smirking Reed as he finished his sandwich and the muscular Bronco, who stood with his gaze fixed on the doorway. She made her way to her desk, where it was mercifully Reed-free.
Desk Duty
Author: Ron Weasley
Date: 02-24-13 14:51
Feeling as if he's about to be buried in an avalanche of parchment, Ron reaches for the file on top of a pile, flipping it open to begin going through the information there, looking for any gaps that need filling in, forms missing, that sort of thing. He would prefer to be following up on a few leads in a relatively new case but thanks to an incident this morning he's on desk duty until tomorrow.
Less than two hours earlier he'd gone with another Auror to question a wizard whom they learned knows more about the illegal activities of some of his coworkers. No sooner had Aurelia Hartenian and he arrived than the man, Justin Morley, had used a spell to hurl a number of heavy objects at them then took off. Aurelia and Ron were able to shield themselves from the items save one. That one had bounced off something else and came at Ron at an odd angle. He was so busy with the other things he never noticed that one. It got in in the leg, dislocating his knee.
Assured that Ron was more or less fine, Aurelia went in pursuit of Morley who, luckily for them was bloody crap at apparating. While Aurelia had Morley in an interrogation room at the Ministry, where he confessed to being part of those illegal activities, Ron was getting his knee fixed at St. Mungo's. It's sore and he's a little unsteady on it but all in all the knee is now fine. He has, however, been ordered to rest it so that the potions he was given may fully take effect. Hence the pile of parchment work to get through.
Ron plows on, forcing himself to get through the tedious process of doing paperwork. He has told himself that if he's met the goal he's set by the time of a meeting this afternoon, he'll treat Hermione and he to a special dinner at a restaurant they both love but rarely go to because it's rather pricey, and he'll buy an entire cake or pie from Briar's. Heck, maybe he'll got one of each.
The meeting this afternoon is a regular one of that task force he's been on. Even though serial killer Danielle Baatz has been found guilty of many of the murders she committed, there are still trials going on and there are still unsolved cases around the world that bear earmarks of her work. Because of that the task force has been meeting every two to three weeks. As Ron enjoys the company of the other task force members even if the reason behind task force is grisly and as he's constantly learning something new about how law enforcement departments in other countries operate while also regularly finding striking similarities between them, he always looks forward to their gatherings. He just needs to stay productive between now and then even if he would prefer stretching out and letting the drowsiness brought on by one of the potions for his knee take over.
Satisfied that the file he has in front of him is as complete as he can make it, Ron places it in a basket situated at one corner of his desk. He's reaching for another file when a parchment airplane zooms into his office to make a perfect landing directly in front of him. Unfolding the airplane, expecting to find it's another of the countless memos sent out by various departments Ron is pleased to see it's the analysis report on the flowers Adriana Fairchild sent his brother Bill. Nothing was found to be wrong with the bouquet. No hexes, no curses, no powders, no thorns dipped in poison. Just regular flowers that would only harm someone who's extremely allergic.
Glancing at the time Ron sees it's nearing lunch. Picking up the analysis, he exits his cubicle with the thought of taking lunch in Hogsmeade after he's gone by the Gringotts there to let Bill see the report for himself. Wincing a little at the stiffness in his knee, he walks to the nearest bank of lifts, his mind turning to what sounds good for lunch or does he just want to go to his house and have leftover chicken as a sandwich.
Not So Good News
Author: Lawrence Masterson
Date: 02-25-13 07:47
Fifth year Ravenclaw and Slytherin students had just filed out of the greenhouse and Lawrence was getting ready to head to St. Emrys for his last final which started at three but he also had a lunch date at a cafe near the Ministry before he went to St. Emrys for his final.
He had just been finishing getting things together and setting up the class for his sixth year NEWT students who had an exam tomorrow when he realized that there was someone standing in the doorway of the greenhouse.
"Hello Lawrence..." The woman said.
"Auntie, what brings you here?"
"I thought I'd come see my favorite nephew, and see how you and your wife are doing?"
"We are both doing well, I'm jut about to meet her for lunch. She's working at the Ministry now, and I am just about to finish up my advanced certification at St. Emrys in herbology."
"Well, then I won't keep you for too long then my dear. Just also wanted to let you now that your uncle is in the hosptial, but he should be home soon. Had a nasty spill the other morning and broke his ankle."
"Oh, that's not good. Why don't Ariella and I come over for dinner this weekend at some point. Have you told Maggie yet?"
"No, I've not been by her flat yet, but I know he works evenings so, I will try a bit later after I get the rest of my errands done."
"Alright."
Lawrence gave the older woman a kiss on the cheek and walked with her to the gates and out into the village, before he apparated to Mags' flat and walked the short distance to the ministry to meet Ariella for lunch and tell her about the visit from his Aunt.