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The Morning After
Author: Desdemona Diamond
Date: 03-12-13 13:52
Yesterday started out just like any other Monday. I had gone to work, come home, that was about it. I was, once again, ambushed by a group of co-workers. The same group that had dragged me out to the bar, and at some point I had become there friend, kept bugging me about my last assignment. They wanted gossip, but they were nowhere near as good as Bronwyn about getting it.
Once I had gotten home, it was a fairly normal quiet evening. I tried to cook something for dinner, I finally could successfully make it past 'bring water to a boil,' trick was to not let it boil until the pot is empty. After that, I have no idea what happens. Next thing I know there's smoke, chaos, and a flame or two. I should probably stop trying to cook before I burn the building down.
Thankfully Orion had never caught my attempts at burning my apartment down, I mean figuring out how to cook. After he came over, with some take-out and the two of us ate. Orion hated staying at my place, no magic protection here at all. He endured it, however. Not actually voicing any complaint.
He did take forever to go to sleep though. Mr. Paranoid couldn't relax enough to sleep usually until long after I dozed off. Last night was no exception. I didn't wake up to the sounds of an owl scratching at my window. Orion had stopped it before it could wake me. The sudden drop in temperature did wake me.
See, I rather like being warm when I sleep. Normally I have a few extra blankets, some folded in half, to keep me warm. Bronwyn always has to make a comment on what she calls the mountain of blankets. However, when Orion is there, the mountain is gone. I only have an extra blanket or two, because Orion makes up for the others missing. However, every time he gets out of bed I wake up because it gets cold.
Anyways, he returned to the bed sitting on the edge. Never having actually made a sound when he moved. When he didn't lay down right away I finally spoke up and simply asked, "What?"
"You just got a letter," Orion informed me, his voice soft.
"Official?" I asked.
"Personal."
"What time is it?"
"Just after midnight."
"Then I'm sleeping."
"You'll want to read it first."
"Mmm" I protested, pulling my blankets tighter.
"It was written in a hurry, I can barely make out your name."
I let out a long heavy sigh before turning over, "Fine…" Orion handed me the letter. I opened it, the light from outside just barely enough to let me read it. I sat up and said, "I have to go."
"What is it?" Orion asked, every ready to help me.
"It's Arley," I told him, swinging my legs out of bed, "Something's wrong with him." Orion stood up, but before he could move anywhere I told him, "They want me to come alone, it's personal."
With just a look Orion made it clear he wasn't happy with me going alone. Ever my faithful protector he hated it when I wasn't nearby. Especially after the 'University Incident.'
"Look," I said to him, "I'm just going to Arley's. I'll be fine. I've been kicking his butt for the last fifteen or twenty years, he hasn't won yet," I moved over to him, "Don't worry, I'll see you in a little bit." I gave him a quick kiss before popping out of my room. Sure, a no-no, but Seb wouldn't have sent that note unless it was an emergency.
I was in front of Arley's door a moment later, and I knocked. Seb probably heard me arrive even without the knock. I heard Arley inside yelling, he was certainly freaking out. I was pretty sure he was saying something like, "He's here! He's here!"
After several moments, the door opened. I tried to open it myself, but it was locked. And it didn't sound like Arley needed someone kicking in his door right now. Besides, kicking in his door would hurt wearing just my fuzzy slippers over my feet.
Sebastian looked like he was in terrible shape, "Desi! You came! I don't know what to do!" He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me in. "It's Arley…" He pointed to where Arley sat, on the far corner of the sofa. I had seen him like this before, many years ago…
"Arley…" I sighed as I carefully moved over to him.
************************************************
The next morning, I sat at the kitchen table. Slowly eating a bowl of cereal when Sebastian shuffled in. He was wearing nothing but a pair of sweat pants, showing off his muscular arms and chest. His hair was a mess, sticking up randomly, and he yawned as he came in.
He walked passed me and grabbed a bowl and spoon from the cabinet, before sitting down at the table. I just pushed the box of cereal and thing of milk over to him. He poured himself his breakfast and started eating. We ate a few minutes in silence before Seb realized something was wrong.
"Desi?" He asked a bit confused, "Why are you still here?"
"I have no pants," I answered flatly, without missing a beat.
Seb leaned over and looked under the table, confirming that my legs were uncovered. The oversized t-shirt I was wearing kept him from seeing anything he shouldn't. "Oh," is all he said when he straightened up. A few moments of silence passed as we slowly ate.
"I can't believe what happened," Seb started saying, "I have never seen you so-"
"Don't ever talk about what I did last night. Ever. To anyone. Or I will end you."
Seb didn't say anything. He just returned to his cereal. A few silent minutes passed before Arley shuffled into the room, much as Seb had done. He too grabbed a bowl, a spoon, and sat down at the table. After pouring himself breakfast he too started to eat. A moment passed before he realized that an extra person was seated at his table.
"Desi? What are you doing here?" He asked.
"She has no pants," Seb answered.
"Or shoes," I added, my slippers having disappeared sometime between last night and this morning. I watched as Arley leaned over and looked under the table.
"Oh."
Of Secret Santas and Christmas Gifts
Author: Charisma Stone
Date: 03-12-13 16:26
"Blake, seriously? You wrapped this?" I looked at his Secret Santa gift for Professor Sacheverelle, shaking my head.
"Yes, I wrapped it, what's wrong with it?"
"For one, you can still see what it is through the holes in the wrapping. You should have gotten a gift bag for it instead if your wrapping skills are this poor." I teased him, before kissing his cheek.
"Well, good thing I thought ahead and requested your gift to be wrapped before it was shipped." He teased back and helped me strip off the horrid wrapping job and fixing it so that it was neatly wrapped for him.
"I've got yours already at the house along with something for your mum, dad, and little sister." I said with a smile.
"Good, I've something for the rest of your family as well, including the new sibling." He grinned.
"What did you get your secret Santa? And who did you get?"
"I didn't get you, I got Olive Green. Sixth year Slytherin."
"Right, what'd you get her?"
"I got her a set of journals and quill with a variety of inks to use."
"Cool. I'd gotten Professor Sacheverelle a set of divination crystals in different colors."
"Awesome. Let's drop these beneath the tree and head to dinner."
Once the gifts were wrapped they headed to the Common Commons to drop the presents beneath the tree and head to the Great Hall for dinner.
The Truth Is Out There
Author: Jolyon
Date: 03-12-13 18:29
"Any last questions before our next meeting?" Professor Kent asked the fourth years seated inside the warmth of the stables. They had spent the last forty-five minutes reviewing every magical creature discussed since September.
"Anyone?" Professor Kent prompted. When nobody raised a hand or expressed visual confusion, he said, "Very well, then. See you on Thursday. Remember that the exam will mostly be written, but everyone will have at least one practical assignment as well."
The fourth years gathered their things together and ducked out into the mix of snow and sleet, though a few threw lingering glances at their professor before leaving. He turned his back on them and set about tidying his notes, which had somehow gotten disorganized during the exam review.
He knew why he felt so distracted, and why his students had murmured about him with their heads bent together. While at breakfast that morning, Jolyon had learned that Rita Skeeter had made him her next target. The article in the newspaper entitled Deadbeat Dad had revealed the fact that he had fathered a pair of twins over eleven years ago. Although the twins were not named, it was written that they had started at Hogwarts this school year. Anyone could guess who they might be.
What irked Jolyon, besides the fact that Skeeter had outed something Merrie and Jolyon should have done themselves, was that she had made him seem as if he had known of the twins' existence all along and that he had deliberately avoided helping Merrie financially over the years. Jolyon wasn't a deadbeat dad. If he'd known about the twins, he would have been in their lives from the very beginning.
Neither Asher nor Arielle had been in the Great Hall when he'd discovered the news, which had been both a relief and a burden. He had long wanted to reveal the truth to them and hated that Rita Skeeter had potentially caused problems for their relationship with him. How would they feel to learn the truth about their father, to know that he had been under their noses all this time?
The barn doors creaked open.
"What did you do?"
Jolyon turned to find Merrie standing in the doorway. Bits of snow clung to her hair and cloak.
"If you're referring to the article in the newspaper, I didn't do anything," Jolyon stated, "and I can tell you this would have been avoided if you had allowed me to say something to them sooner. They're going to hate me now."
"She would have written it anyway," Merrie countered, "or found some other dirty little secret about you. As for the twins, I don't know what they will think. How do you suppose she found out?"
"I don't know. She has a knack for finding a grain of truth that she can twist into something bigger and far worse than it actually is. You know I would have helped you, if only I'd have known about them."
"I know that, Jolyon. Well, what are we going to do now?"
"I think the discussion we wanted to have over Christmas break needs to happen today, and the sooner the better. I––"
Jolyon's words fell silent when Arielle, his daughter, slipped into the barn. She immediately noticed her mother and then looked at her father.
"So it's true?" she asked in a small, uncertain voice. "I overheard some other students talking."
Merrie reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her daughter's ear. "Yes, sweetheart. It's true that Jolyon is your father, but he's not the horrible man Rita Skeeter says he is. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
Arielle looked from her mother to Jolyon and asked, "When did you find out about us?"
"I had my suspicions when I saw you at the Sorting Ceremony," Jolyon admitted, "but your mother didn't tell me everything until sometime later. I've been wanting to talk to you and your brother, but your mother thought it would be best if we waited until Christmas. She didn't want you getting distracted during term. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, and I hope you aren't cross with me."
Arielle studied him for a long, silent moment. Then she said, "I'm not."
She turned to her mother. "But I am cross with you."
Merrie looked taken aback. "Arielle, I––"
Arielle shook her head. "You kept us from our dad, and you kept him from us. That's not fair."
"I know, but I didn't mean to hurt anyone. Arielle––"
Arielle shook her head again. "If he's not the bad man Rita Skeeter says he is, then I don't know why you would keep us apart. Can you go home now?"
Merrie looked as if she had been slapped in the face. She turned to Jolyon, pleading with only her eyes for him to say something.
Jolyon cleared his throat. "Merrie, let me have a word with Arielle. I will send you an owl later."
Merrie looked torn about leaving, but she forced herself to walk away, leaving father and daughter alone for the first time. They studied each other for a long time without saying anything. Then Arielle asked, "Do you like broccoli?"
"Yes, but I prefer it raw."
"Me too. What's your favorite color?"
"Green."
"Mine too. Do you have any pets?" Jolyon asked.
"Just an owl. His name is Scuttle," Arielle replied. "Do you have any pets?"
"If you don't count all the creatures I care for here at Hogwarts, only two birds. The cage is up in the loft. Do you want to see?"
"Okay."
They climbed the ladder and walked over to the two exotic birds named Pia and Timo. Arielle asked a bunch of questions about them in between cooing at the two birds, who were perched side by side, nestled into each other for warmth.
"Are you doing Secret Santa?" Arielle finally asked.
"I am," Jolyon said. "Do you want to see what I got?"
"Yes."
Arielle followed him to his desk, where she saw a small aquarium she hadn't noticed when she first came up to the loft. The remarkable thing about it was that it was clipped to the side of the desk. Inside was a goldfish and some ornamentation to make the fish feel at home.
"It's for Daniel Gelson. Do you know him?" Jolyon asked.
"His name sounds familiar," Arielle said, "but I don't know where I've heard it before."
"He's an older boy," Jolyon said. "I'm holding onto this to give him at a later date. I don't want to leave the fish under the tree and have it go belly up before Daniel finds it!"
Arielle made a face. "I don't think he would like a dead fish, even if the aquarium is wicked cool."
"Wicked cool, eh?" Jolyon asked, grinning.
He marveled at his daughter. How easy it was to talk to her! It was as if they had known each other all along. Hopefully getting to know Asher would be just as easy...
What's Wrong?
Author: Sage Porter
Date: 03-12-13 19:31
Ezra walks in to find Sage slumped on the couch. He drops onto the couch as well. "I'm beat. I hate having the early shift but at the same time I like that it gives me the rest of the day without having to watch the clock. I was thinking of getting lunch out. Want to come?"
"Sage?"
"Sorry. What?"
"Lunch. Do you want to come with me somewhere?"
"No, but thanks."
"You all right?"
"Not really. I think Georgia and I just broke up."
"Why do you think that?"
"We just had an argument. A bloody bad one."
"You've had disagreements before."
"Not like this. She's fed up with being treated, in her words, like some disgusting fungus by my da."
"I can't blame her for that but you've always defended her to him."
"Apparently not enough. When she was still at Hogwarts he felt then as he does now but Georgia wasn't directly exposed to it as much as she is now. Now that Da has issued invitations to the varous parties he's throwing between now and just after New Year's and Georgia is once again not invited, she's annoyed. That she was here when Da dropped by to tell me himself that I wasn't to bring her because he'd made arrangements just made it worse. I told him if she wasn't invited I wouldn't be coming to any of the parties either."
Ezra senses there's more so takes an educated guess based on the past. "But as so often happens you ended up compromising and will be going."
"Right."
"Georgia didn't like that."
"Didn't like is a seriously understating her reaction. She had a few choice words for Da and after he left in a huff, she got into with me."
"I'm sorry. Listen, I know you skipped breakfast and though you don't have much appetite right now, come on and go with me. You have to eat. Get a cup of soup if you don't think you'll be able to get much down."
Sage frowns at his brother. "I sort of just want to go crawl back in bed."
"So come eat a little something then come home and do that."
"You're going to keep at it until I agree to go with you, aren't you?"
"You know it."
Sage's frown turns into a scowl. "Fine then, I'll come but I won't enjoy it."
"Never said you had to," Ezra says with a cheery grin.
Sage lumbers to his feet, feeling a distinctive lack of energy. "Where to?"
"Cauldron Cafe?"
"Okay."
Sage follows Ezra to the fireplace, glad the cafe is on the Floo Network because he has a feeling if he tried apparating right now he'd splinch.
Gifts and Plans
Author: Adina Blackwood
Date: 03-13-13 07:46
"So, who did you get for the Secret Santa?" Arthur asked as he dropped down next to me in the Common Commons after his Ancient Runes class.
"Coach Krum, you?"
"Wiggy."
"Nice, what do you get the kid who is a professional quidditch player and student?"
"I got him a new pair of trainers and my mum sent me a box of sweets from their trip to China they'd taken last week."
"Awesome. I think he'll like both."
"What'd you get for Coach Krum?"
"Well, I had mum send over a box of her baklava and I also picked out a jumper that I think he might like. I've already put them under the tree, do you have Wiggy's under the tree yet?"
"Yeah, put it under there on my way to breakfast."
I turned my attention to my Transfiguration homework and sighed, leaning back in the seat. "Oh, are you coming over for Christmas day or Christmas eve, so I can let mum know how many she's gotta cook for and on which day."
"I think Mum said we'd be there on Christmas Day, and do stuff at our house Christmas Eve. Then I'll be back New Years Eve while Mum and Dad go out, little sis will be staying with my grandparents."
"Sounds like a plan." I leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"Oh, did you see the article about Professor Kent?"
"Arthur, seriously, I refuse to read anything written by Rita Skeeter. She's horrible."
That put an end to that particular conversation and he knew that I wouldn't gossip about anything she'd written.