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Awkward Family Meal
Author: Illyria
Date: 03-13-13 18:01
In one of the dimly lit corners of The Bamboo Forest, a foursome sat in uncomfortable silence. Only the clink of china––only one of the four had ever learned to use chopsticks––could be heard, until the eldest cleared his throat and finally spoke.
"All right, let's have it out," said Atticus Jones, eyeing his two daughters. They sat opposite each other but kept their heads down and avoided eye contact.
When neither spoke, Atticus fixed his eyes on Illyria, the eldest, and stated, "I don't have to tell you how disappointed I am. That you would go behind your sister's back while she was married is unthinkable. It's made even worse because you had no reason to think that Nathan wasn't Andrew's father. If you couldn't think about Urania's feelings in all of this, then you should have thought about your nephew. He is an innocent, and you've set a very bad example for him."
Illyria wished she could dissolve into the floor. Never in all her life had she gotten such a talking-to by her father, not when she was a child, not even when she was a teenager. That it should happen now when she was in her thirties was humiliating.
She wanted to tell her father that she had tried staying away from Nathan, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. She had been weak and a fool.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.
Atticus turned his steely gaze upon Urania next. "And you, Urania," he began, sighing deeply. "Your mother and I didn't raise you to step out on your husband. You were only thinking about yourself, and once again, it is poor Andrew who suffers the most. It is a blessing that he is still too young to remember any of your foolishness. I see now that it was a mistake to allow you to rush into your marriage."
Urania put down her chopsticks and wrung her hands in her lap. Her engagement ring and wedding band were no longer on her finger. Nathan had begun divorce proceedings.
"I'm sorry," she murmured.
Atticus looked at his wife, Ione, whose face looked pinched. She'd fainted after first hearing about the drama concerning her daughters and still hadn't wrapped her mind over the fact that two of her good girls had made very bad mistakes.
He reached out and touched her hand with his. Then he turned back to first Illyria and then Urania. "It pains us to see you both at odds with each other. You two have always been the closest."
"I know it's difficult, all things considered," began Ione, "but won't you let bygones be bygones and be friends again?"
Illyria finally raised her eyes to meet Urania, but Urania still studied the bare hands in her lap. Illyria had not been in contact with Nathan since their chance meeting in Hogsmeade. She had told him that the best thing he could do for the time-being was leave her be. When she was ready, she would contact him again herself.
Urania, meanwhile, had begun earnest discussions with Gustavo about how to proceed with their relationship. Should they make things official and raise Andrew together? Urania had already petitioned to change Andrew's surname from Goode to Maloney, though she had not yet done anything with her own name.
"I'm willing to put the past behind us, if that's what Urania wants."
Urania finally looked up and across the table at her sister. "Are you going to get together with Nathan?"
"I don't know," Illyria said. "Would it bother you if I did?"
Urania didn't answer for a long time. She looked down at her lap again and twisted her fingers together.
Just when Atticus started to open his mouth and suggest that Illyria shouldn't be ridiculous, Urania looked up again and said, "No, but will you at least wait until we're properly divorced?"
Illyria nodded. "I can promise you that."
"Good," Urania said, "then I guess we can move forward."
Atticus looked between his daughters and then to his wife again. She nodded her head and said, "Let us not think about the past anymore."
"Agreed," everyone said.
"Let's talk about something else," Atticus suggested. He took his hand back and picked up his fork, spearing a bit of orange chicken. "Illyria, what is new at Hogwarts?"
Illyria shrugged. "It being Christmastime, we're having a gift exchange. I drew the name of one of my coworkers."
"Who is that?" Urania asked.
"Dante Knight," Illyria replied. "He teaches Charms."
"What did you get him?" Ione questioned.
"I bought him a knitted cap and an infinity scarf."
"Why didn't you just make them yourself?" Ione asked, shaking her head.
"Because I never paid attention when you tried to teach us how to knit!" Illyria exclaimed. "I think Arsinoe is the only one who ever got any good at it."
"She's the only one who ever paid attention to anything Mum tried teaching us. She's the best knitter, the best cook…" Urania said, smiling.
Illyria laughed. "You're right about that."
Atticus watched his daughters and smiled. He had feared that the evening would remain sour but found himself pleasantly surprised by the outcome.
Hanging Out After Freaking Out: A Day With Desi
Author: Arlington J Montgomery
Date: 03-13-13 21:35
The awkward silence of breakfast had slowly faded, and the trio sat together around the kitchen table. Last night had been intense; Arley's freak out over his nightmare had left everyone shaken this morning. Desdemona had come over to help quell her childhood friend's emotions, and luckily she had experience calming the Texan down.
Arlington sipped on a fresh mug of coffee and leaned back in his chair. "So Desi, do you want to hang out with us today? We both have the day off, Seb called out."
"I already called into work."
"Oh, that is awesome. We haven't hung out in awhile." He looked down to study his hands for a moment before looking back up at his friend. "Thanks again for coming over. I'm not exactly sure what all happened, but thank you. I needed that."
"You have no idea…" She yawned before continuing, "Besides, I don't think they'd like it if I showed up at the office half naked."
"Was I really that bad?" Desi and Seb exchanged a look at his question. "I'm sorry I freaked y'all out." He chuckled a bit at Desi's remark. "Oh c'mon I'm sure they would love it if ya showed up half naked." Sebastian just rolled his eyes at his partner's comment.
Desi shot Arley a look. "You didn't freak me out. After two or three times you get used to it." She had been through this with Arlington several times before; after his mother died she was always able to help him.
"Oh, well that's a good thing you're used to me doing that then. It was so real though, like Dad came after me after killing Mom. It was like he was in the house." Sebastian stepped away to clear the table while the pair continued their talk.
"Do you actually remember that?"
"I remember parts of the dream itself, but not much afterwards, just feelings really. Although I've been thinking; I was so in shock when it happened, I blocked it out all these years."
"Do you actually remember seeing it? If you do, you can tell me."
"Yes. I was there Desi, I saw everything."
"I remember after it happened you were really bad…last night would have been mild in comparison…Arley if you finally remember, then your father can pay for what he did to your mother."
Arley just nodded as he took another sip of coffee, the mug cradled in his only hand. "I can imagine that I was horrible afterwards. Desi, I know he should pay for it, but he's already in jail. What if he…I'm not sure I can face that man again."
"You won't have to face him alone. You'll have Seb and Fallon…and I'll be there with you. I've kicked James' butt already, so you know, I can always do it again."
He took a deep breath and nodded reluctantly. "That is true, and I need all of the support I can get if we go through with this. You know how the man was too, Des. I am relying on you kicking his ass if it comes to that. You promise you'll be there beside me?"
Seb moved over and wrapped his arms around his Partner's bare shoulders from behind. "Desi is right; we will all be there for you love." Arley instantly relaxed as he leaned back into Sebastian's arms.
"I can't promise I'll be beside you. It will be kind of hard with Seb in the way."
Seb couldn't help but tease her a little. "He has two sides you know, but I get the right."
Arley couldn't help but laugh a bit; he had always loved Desi's unique sense of humor. "You two seriously make me laugh. Thanks for that."
"You know Fallon would just push me right off of the other side!" Her tone became more serious, "I'll contact my friend Angela back in the Sates so she can start working on the case."
He nodded at the change in mood. "Thanks Desi, I'll do whatever I need to."
She nodded "I'll do it later. I'm sure as hell not going to visit her with no pants!"
Arley chuckled, "That would probably be a good idea."
Seb tried to stifle a giggle. "If you are staying for the day, would you like pants? We have plenty, you can shower if you'd like as well."
"Well…she is a lesbian and has been trying to get my pants off for years. Pants would be very nice Seb, thanks."
"So, did I not know about this with Angela?"
Sebastian shrugged "I may have heard something once? No come with me Desi, I will show you the way to the closet."
Arley quirked an eyebrow as Seb thought over his phrase and spoke again. "I believe that came out wrongly." His English was nearly flawless now, but he still made errors on occasion, but mostly in context or when his accent tripped him up.
"Did I not know about her hitting on you?"
Desi laughed out loud, "She even hit on Bron too. Seb, I just hope you have something that I can wear without looking like a clown."
"I believe I have some things that are comfortable and not too engulfing. Find something solid that won't clash with your hair maybe?" He grinned and pulled her away from the table and into his and Arley's bedroom. "Look through there and see if there is anything you can wear."
Desi was a little distracted and looked at something else. "Oh, there are my slippers…"
"I believe you kicked them off at some point last night." He sat on the edge of the bed while she searched for clothes.
"Yeah, when I finally crashed in here I think." She walked over to look through the massive closet.
"Yes, we stayed on the couch mostly. I hope the bed was comfortable for you?"
"It was. You two are giants. Do you know if Fal left any clothes? Something that may fit better?"
"We are not that tall, are we?" Sebastian was right at six feet tall, while Arlington was six feet-two inches tall. I believe she did! *he pulled a box in fron the hallway closet and let her investigate some of Fallon's old clothes.
"You're still like five or six inches taller than I am."
"Oh yes, we are. Do those clothes work?"
"Yup, I think I can make some of this work."
"Excellent! I will leave you to change and then we can all relax a bit."
After Desi got dressed into an old tee shirt and jeans of Fallon's she took a seat back in the living room across from Arley and Seb, who were seated on the couch. The trio spent most of the day relaxing and chatting. After lunch they even caught a quick nap, before they resumed their catching up.
The trio hadn't spent time together in ages. Arley had seen Desi once or twice, but they never had a chance to talk in private. He and Desi were best friends growing up, and they had moments over the years where they drifted apart. They always made up though, and Desi would always help calm Arlington through tough and tricky situations. Sebastian enjoyed the day as well. It was always nice to have a day off of work, even if the reasoning for calling in had been hard.
After a quick dinner, Desi had to head home for work the next day. Arley pulled her in for one of his bear-hugs. "Write soon, we need to keep in touch better. Also, let me know if your friend finds anything we can use for the case."
Desi nodded and hugged Arley lightly before she wiggled free from his grasp only to be hugged by Sebastian. "Oh, so I am going to leave a suitcase or bag here with clothes and such so I won't be unprepared for next time."
"That is a wonderful idea Desi! You can drop it off later if you'd like. Have a good night."
With that, Desi headed home and the boys eventually made their way back to their bed for some much needed rest.
A Date
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 03-14-13 03:05
For some reason Gus couldn't wrap his gift to Jade Green properly. No matter the large number of attempts, the final result would be awful: it seemed like the present had been badly treated or that it spent several days in the cold, outside. He wanted to use magic, but the spell that he would need to cast insisted on slipping away from his mind and the more he tried to remember it, the less he could.
"What are you laughing at? Do you want me to turn you into a toad? Not that it would make much of a difference, you're already ugly," Gus barked at a girl from the third year, who was teasing his efforts. She burst into tears and disappeared towards the door that lead to the girl's dormitories.
"You shouldn't have been so mean," Johanna criticized.
She had just arrived to the Slytherin common room after breakfast, in order to fetch her bag with all her school supplies for the day.
"She shouldn't have mocked me," Gus replied, seating heavily in one of the empty chairs by the table. "I give up. I will just put this in a bag and deliver it to Jade the way it is. Or maybe I can force one of the younger students to wrap this for me. They wouldn't dare to refuse a thing to a prefect, would they?"
"And then they would accuse you of abusing your powers and Snape would confiscate your badge and give it to Taran."
"Taran is a looser. "
"A looser who would boss you around, if you don't start to change your conduct as a prefect."
Without asking for permission Johanna started to wrap up Jade Green's gift. It didn't escape to her that Gus had even the consideration of picking a blue wrapping paper, the Ravenclaw colors whose Jade belonged to. The present itself was a comfortable pair of boots, made to wear at home. Since when did he become so thoughtful?, she thought to herself. Johanna could bet he would buy the most random thing to Jade, not really caring about it but instead he had actually been nice. Once the wrap was finished she passed it to Gus.
"Thank you. Do you think she will like the gift? Joanna said she would."
"Joanna?" she raised her eyebrow, inquiring.
"Yes, Joanna Porter. We bumped into each other at Hogsmeade. She was picking random packages of sweets at Honeydukes and I noticed she was serving herself with too much Pepper Imps. So I asked her 'Are you really going to eat them all in a row?' and she told me she didn't care. I think it was like that thing you and Felicia were talking about the other day at Charms, about muggle girls and ice-cream, remember? She is still very upset Roger Gesner broke up with her. I convinced her not to buy so much of those imps and she asked me how was I able to forget about Polly so fast. I told her just to try and not to think about her ex and I took her to the Shrieking Shag, where we fantasized about trapping Roger and Polly there," he laughed.
"Then I took her to Burger Wizard for lunch and by Merlin I have never seen a girl eating as much as a boy before. It was fun. I mentioned my Secret Santa gift and she offered to help me so we spent the afternoon looking out for Jade's gift. End of story."
She looked at Gus puzzled and before she could speak the bell rang announcing the start of the morning classes. Johanna and Gus picked up their bags and walked into the Transfiguration classroom. Kate was already there and Johanna sat next to her while Gus opted to sit behind. Felicia joined them, moments later at the same time as Professor Black. While the books were being open and information was being written on the blackboard Johanna turned to Gus and said:
"I can't believe you went out on a date and you didn't tell us!"
"A date? With who?" Felicia asked.
"It wasn't a date," Gus assured them.
"Angharad didn't mention anything to me…"Kate said and the heads turned to Angharad who was seated in the other side of the classroom.
"It was not with her. He went out with Joanna Porter," Johanna explained. She too had turned to look at Angharad. Kate, Felicia and herself had already noticed Gus' interest in her, but now it seemed that it was nothing but just that.
Unfortunately, Professor Black ordered silence and Johanna would have to save her questions about Angharad Cadin and Joanna Porter for later. Instead she thought about the coat she was going to offer Jill Prewitt, a 6th year Gryffindor that was her Secret Santa, whose name she knew because she had been one of the players of IQT two years ago, and she wondered if she would like it or not, hoping she had picked the right size.
What To Do?
Author: Sirius Padfoot Black
Date: 03-14-13 17:02
Perched on the sideboard he has under the window in his office Drucilla looks expectantly at Sirius.
Rubbing a hand across the corner of one eye Sirius asks, "You're sure it was her?"
Dru's look shifts from expectant to impatient. "As I've said at least three times, no, I'm not sure. If I were sure I would have told Harry straightaway."
Sirius shuts the filing cabinet then walks the short distance to where Dru is obviously starting to simmer. He takes her hand and kisses it. "I'm sorry. Trying to process the fact that your cousin may be lurking around Grove's End while thinking about what I've got left to do this week is making my brain slower than usual."
Only somewhat mollified Dru moves her hand to cup Sirius's cheek. "Tell them or, for the time being, just keep a watch out for Vasilka?"
Leaning a moment into her hand before talking hold of it again Sirius makes a face. "As much as I hate the idea of putting Harry and Ginny on high alert for something that might well be nothing, I think saying something is best."
"How about we invite them for supper? Tell them then."
Nodding, he goes to his desk to write the invitation even as Drucilla sighs, "I've taken up a good part of your lunch."
"I'll just get something to eat at my desk during office hours. Want to join me?"
"Love to, though if we're having the Potters for dinner I need to go home and figure out what we need."
"If you'll get what we need for chicken kebabs, I'll fire up the grill."
Dru is all to aware of Sirius's attachment to the grill to bother questioning him about grilling with snow and ice on the ground. She simply smiles in agreement, accepting the sealed envelope to be owled as Sirius picks up a gift wrapped in peppermint striped paper with small images of the candy canes scattered over it, complete with a pepperminty aroma.
"You've not put Adina's gift out yet?" Adina is Adina Blackwood, the student whose name Sirius drew for Secret Santa.
"I kept forgetting to take it to the commons. I'd meant to do the when I brought it to school the other day but Mira decided she just had to have the doll she's left here in the office before she could go to the day care. I put the box down and have repeatedly walked out of here without it ever since. I'll do it before we go to the Great Hall to fix plates."
Sirius, with input from Drucilla, James, and most especially Mira, had selected three different hats, ranging from fun and silly to cute but practical for cold weather to cute but practical for warmer weather. Hopefully, she'll like all three.
(Angharad Carter-Cadin) Secret Santa
Author: Cai Pembroke Carter
Date: 03-14-13 17:17
I'd seen Gus hanging out with Joanna Porter at the last Hogsmeade weekend before holiday and I simply shut it out. Let him turn his attention to her, I mean did we really have anything in common? In a muggle school he'd be a jock and I'd probably be in one of the outcast cliques that no one really pays attention to.
I had decided to put my name into the Secret Santa gift exchange this year and I'd gotten Hunter Rabnott, someone I didn't know all that well but he was a boy, how hard could they be to shop for? I mean I had to shop for Evan and Broderick every year for Christmas, but they were my brothers and I figured that I at least knew a little bit about them and that made it easier to shop for them.
I wasn't sure what I wanted to get him, but I'd finally found something on that last Hogsmeade trip and ultimately grabbed one gift for him and I'd found something else that I'd ordered for him and waited for that to get here before I wrapped everything and stuck it under the tree in the Common Common Room before I'd gone to Transfiguration this morning.
Right now, I was trying to enjoy lunch and also work on the last bit of homework that I had before I went to Ancient Runes after lunch. I'd gotten a letter from my mom saying that she wasn't going to be around while I was on break from Hogwarts but she'd left presents for me with the Carters and I was to go home with them...as if I had much of a choice in that matter.
"Are you actually eating lunch or are you conducting an experiment as to how long it will take your lunch to magically vanish?"
I looked up from the sentence I'd just finished for Ancient Runes and saw Anita grinning at me as she dropped down across the table from me.
"Hey, yeah I'm actually going to eat it, but I've gotta eat quick now. Or I'm going to be late for Ancient Runes."
"Yeah, I'm just grabbing something quick before I got Arithmancy and Divination," Anita said as she grabbed a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a half a ham and cheese sandwich.
We talked a little bit while I ate and worked and ultimately headed out of the great hall so I could go to Ancient Runes and she could go to Arithmancy and Divination. Thankfully we didn't discuss Gus van Tassel, I wasn't sure what I thought about the fact that he apparently was interested in Joanna Porter, who was the most recent ex of Roger Gesner.
(Broderick) Between Classes and Secret Santa
Author: Cai Pembroke Carter
Date: 03-14-13 18:05
"Hey." I said as I dropped down next to Driz and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"How was your morning?"
"It was alright, managed to finish wrapping Jack's present for the Secret Santa exchange. Why didn't you put you name in this year?"
"Because I chose not to, and I've got your gift picked out already, and it is tucked away in the bottom of my trunk and you won't get it until I come to visit you over holiday."
"Well, I've got your gift picked out too, and I'm quite sure you'll love it and you aren't getting it until holiday either." I teased and kissed her lightly.
"You need to eat something before you go to class, and then I'll see you at dinner. Are we hanging out tonight or do you have things you need to get done?"
I grabbed a sandwich off the plate that she'd gotten, and started eating it while I considered.
"We can hang out tonight at least for a little while, before I you have to be back down in your common room and I've gotta head to Astronomy."
"Sounds like a plan."
I headed over to the tree and put the box for Jack beneath the tree. I'd gotten him a couple of vintage T-shirts that have references to some muggle video games that I'd played when we'd lived in Japan and some Japanese snacks that I still absolutely loved and got a regular shipment of every couple of months.