|
|
Bad Dreams and Good News
Author: Peregrinus Hartcrofte
Date: 06-28-13 10:41
Traveling through time was always rough. His skin burned as if abraded by sun-heated sand, as his stomach threatened to revolt. He wanted to close his eyes to quell the vertigo, but he dared not. Watching the centuries fly by was not a spectacle one shut away, even to preserve the remains of one's last meal.
The future was a desolate place; buildings that had seen great advancement from his own time now sat in disrepair. The childlike Eloi had fascinated him, but their own lack of fascination saddened him. Finding his time machine stolen, he followed the marks left in the ground to discover the brutish Morlocks, feeding upon the Eloi. He rescued an Eloi named Weena from drowning, only to despair as the grim reaper's pendulum swung the other way, claiming her by fire.
Pip awoke to an insistent tapping on his window. Though not a morning person by any definition of the term, he was grateful for the interruption. Dreaming into The Time Machine by H.G. Wells was wondrous, but far from pleasant. So, he dragged himself from bed, slipping into a purple silk dressing gown in response to the chill in the air on his otherwise bare skin. He opened the window, admitting even more chill, to accommodate the owl who had rescued him from Wells.
He recognized the owl as one who delivered Nephele's messages. His gratitude to the owl grew exponentially. It had been a few days since he had seen Nephele at the Egg Hunt. It had been so surreal to be back at Hogwarts after so long. He had felt quite the cock of the walk with such a beautiful woman on his arm. A gentle nip on his finger brought him back to the matter at hand.
"I'm sorry, where are my manners?" Pip dashed to his bedside, fishing out some coins from a bowl he used to empty his pockets. He paid the owl, giving it a bit extra as an apology for keeping it waiting. Once the owl defenestrated itself, Pip closed the window behind it.
With a quick slashing gesture of his wand, Nephele's envelope was opened. Before fishing the letter out, he held it under his nose for a moment, savoring the lingering scent of Nephele's perfume. It was a perfectly-balanced scent: neither too floral nor too musky, neither harshly chemical nor common. It spoke of summer wildflowers and roaring fires in winter while sipping on mulled wine. Pip could have inhaled the aroma all morning, but his curiosity wouldn't hold out that long.
A smile spread across his face as he read Nephele's note and the good news within. Without bothering to dress, he burst from his bedroom, crossing Hartcrofte House as quickly as his long strides would take him to the owlery. He tapped his wand on the writing desk much as a maestro taps his baton to call an orchestra's attention, setting the quill and parchment to accept dictation.
"Dearest Nephele,
I am elated to hear your wonderful news! Hearing from you is always a joy, and this was such a fantastic start to the day. We must celebrate at your earliest convenience.
So very proud of you, Potions Mistress!
Yours, in awe and other things,
Pippin"
(Titus) Cotton Candy
Author: Tiberius Nott
Date: 06-28-13 12:56
The last class of the day was Herbology. Titus walked alongside with Anton, Valeria and Petula back to the castle. He thought about the episode where Anton had hexed that Ravenclaw boy when he was caught kissing Valeria. Titus had been too surprised to do a thing, but Anton ,always with a fast reaction, did not hesitate.
Titus had never kissed a girl and honestly he was not interested at all in doing so. He had seen Tiberius doing so many times whenever he brought a new girlfriend home. Titus thought kissing a girl was grosser than the dragon dung they used at Herbology.
Titus left the trio at the Slytherin common room and he went to his dormitory to check on Saidra. His cat seemed to have lost the habit of ripping off his companions' bed curtains, but now she had acquired a new habit: she started to sharp her claws on Titus' bed poles. Not even one had escaped. He had the feeling soon she would start doing the same thing to the other beds. He wondered if he would be forced to leave the cat at home next term. Or maybe he would have to pay for new beds. But money was not a problem in the Nott family.
Titus found Saidra under his bed. She seemed to be playing with a small pink ball.
"Where did you get that?" he asked, hoping such object didn't belong to any of his colleagues. He might get into trouble.
But then he noticed it was not a ball, but an egg from last weekend Egg Hunt. He probably had forgotten it inside the basket Mrs. Cloris Mockridge had kindly sent to him. He still had to writer her thanking her for such gift. He reached his hand under the bed and with a swift movement he stole the pink egg from Saidra, who now looked frustrated because her toy had been taken away.
Titus studied the small egg, trying to guess its content. Maybe it would be a broom like the one Anton got. He then recalled this has been the same egg that caused that entire confusing between Estine Mignon and Anton.
Titus could not help to feel a bit bad thinking about Anton trying to force Estine to give up of all her eggs. He placed the pink egg on his pocket and he left the Slytherin common room in search for Estine. He was too proud to ask other students about her whereabouts and so it took him almost an hour to locate her. He finally discovered her inside the library, doing homework on her own. He looked around but there was no sign of any of her friends, as well as not anyone he might know.
Titus picked a random book from the nearest shelf and seated next to Estine. He ignored her and pretended he was very concentrated on his reading. He noticed he was being observed by her but he just flipped the pages of the book.
"Are you really that interested in Troll language?" Estine asked.
Only then Titus realized the book he had picked up was an extensive guide about Troll's grunts and its possible meanings. His cheeks turned red but he justified himself:
"It can be useful, you'll never know."
Estine did not contradict him. Instead, she started to pack her things. Titus took advantage of that and placed the small pink egg among her things, hoping she would just put it inside her bag without noticing it. But he wasn't very lucky and she found it. The girl inspected it and then she looked back at Titus, who still pretended to be marveled by the Troll language. Apparently the chewing noise Anton did at times with his mouth during meals meant that he was actually searching for a troll to mate with.
"I don't understand," she finally said.
"There's nothing to understand. You got that egg first. It's yours."
"I had already forgotten about it," Estine confessed and then she suggested that maybe they should open it together to make it even.
Titus was not a fan of that idea. What if it was actually a broom that was inside? How would they split that? But he didn't want to contradict Estine and so he agreed with her. His pale hand touched the egg making contrast with Estine's skin color.
"At three…" she said. "One, two, three!"
The egg was opened and moments later large pink bubbles started to invade the library coming out from the egg. A sixth year student nearby screamed when a bubble got tangled in her hair. The chaos was taking over the library. There were pink bubbles everywhere but they were not simple bubbles: in fact, they were made of cotton candy. Several students grabbed portions of it and started to eat it. Who was not enjoying this at all was Mrs. Blacheart, the librarian. She and her house elves were already trying to solve the situation.
"We should get out of here before we get caught," Titus suggested to Estine.
She agreed but before doing so she handed him a large piece of cotton candy so they could eat it together.
(Angharad Carter-Cardin) Couple Time
Author: Cai Pembroke Carter
Date: 06-28-13 16:27
Music filtered from the WWN listening station where I'd positioned myself in the Common Commons. Spread out on the table before me was the battlezone of my History of Magic exam for tomorrow morning. I was also in the process of finishing my essay that was due tomorrow as well.
Finishing touches were done on the essay, I'd have Perla look it over for grammatical errors when she got back from a study session for one of her own classes. The essay was set aside, and I pulled the study guide to me, and quickly began working through it. Focusing on those items that I had the most trouble with, namely dates and names for the most part, but I'd get things right in time for the exam.
The easter egg hunt had been fantastic, and I'd managed to get a ton of great stuff, and at the moment I was nibbling on small chocolate candies that had come out of one of the eggs. I also had major plans for this summer, including a meet and greet with Broomstick Boys and VIP seats for their concert this summer – she'd be taking Perla. There had also been some Quidditch related items, including a couple of passes to the Quidditch Con this summer, those she'd already given to Cai and Aderyn.
"Knut for your thoughts."
I looked up, torn from my thoughts by Perla, who I hadn't seen come in. She surveyed the expanse of the table.
"History of Magic?"
"Yup, but I'm almost done. You want to look through my essay see if I have any glaring grammatical errors?"
"Sure. Only if you share this very large red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate shavings," she said with a smirk.
"Of course!"
I handed her the essay and used a fork to break off a bite of the cupcake, savoring it. "Yummy. Perfect ending to a good day. You've still got one more class today don't you?"
"Yup, astronomy later tonight, and then only a few classes to round out the week."
"Awesome. I've got a couple tomorrow and I think one or two on Friday too."
I corrected the grammatical errors that I made in my essay and we spent the rest of the evening cuddling, before curfew and ultimately until Perla had to leave for Astronomy.
(Alanna) Birthday Dinner
Author: Beck
Date: 06-28-13 16:59
Alanna slipped out of the office before Reed could take notice of her leave. He always had something to say about her leaving, whether she left early, on time, or stayed late. Usually she just ignored him, but sometimes it wasn't so easy. She especially didn't want him cornering her today, since she had plans after work.
It was Toby's twenty-eighth birthday, and the entire Beck family and assorted friends were meeting up for dinner at a new dim sum restaurant in London. The restaurant was in the heart of Chinatown and surrounded by Muggle establishments, though it was wizarding. Alanna apparated to a spot where she knew she could appear without drawing unwanted attention and made her way to the golden façade of the restaurant only those belonging to the wizarding world could see.
"Welcome to The Golden Dragon," said a pretty Asian witch dressed in a green Chinese-style dress, when Alanna reached the door.
"Thanks," Alanna replied. "I'm meeting others here." She craned her neck to see past the foyer and into the main portion of the restaurant, but it curved around and she couldn't tell whether anyone she knew had already arrived. She didn't recognize anyone at the tables she could see.
"Name of the party?" the hostess asked.
"Beck, Toby or Bronwyn, probably."
"Yes, right this way," the hostess said. She led Alanna around the curve to a slightly raised portion of the restaurant, where several small tables had been pushed together to create a long one. Her grandparents, Katherine, Gillian, Toby and Bronwyn were already there.
Alanna gave everybody a hug and when she reached Toby, she told him happy birthday and gave him a small gift. She had recently visited a coffee shop and had picked up a package of chocolate covered coffee beans imported from Costa Rica.
"Sweet and caffeinated! My kind of snack!" Toby exclaimed, kissing his baby sister on the cheek.
"I thought so," Alanna said, grinning.
He pointed to the empty chairs at the other end of the table. "Take your pick. We're still waiting on Anthony, Ariella, and a few others. Hunter's coming too."
"Hunter MacRoth? It's been ages since I've seen him."
"I know. I feel like the world's worst best friend. Maybe I'll regift these coffee beans as a way to make it up to him," Toby teased.
Alanna laughed. "If you think it will help."
She moved to the empty seat next to her grandmother, hung her small purse on the back of the chair, and sat down. There was no menu to peruse, so she looked out at the carts being pushed around by the servers and tried to guess what was inside the different dumplings and buns.
Her grandmother leaned over and asked, "How is Jared doing?"
Alanna frowned and turned away from a cart that appeared to be laden with desserts. "As well as can be expected. He's stir crazy, stressed, angry and worried. If this goes on for much longer, I'm afraid it's going to make him sick."
"I hope the matter gets resolved in his favor," Josefine said, frowning.
"And soon!" Alanna exclaimed. "I wish he could have come tonight."
"Bring him something back."
"I plan on it."
"Look, there's Alex," said the older witch, thereby changing the subject. Sure enough, there was Alex, leading the way down the path to the table. Anthony and Plum walked behind him.
Alanna got up to greet the three and then went back to staring at the carts as they were pushed around the restaurant. She thought about Jared and how because of a lie of epic proportions, he was missing out on yet another family gathering. The thought made it difficult for her to feel happy, despite the occasion. Still, she put on a smile for her brother and the rest of her family, and when it was time to pick and choose from the carts that came around the table, she laughed when Toby decided to try a basket of chicken feet. He offered her one, but she insisted the birthday boy should have them all.
Terrible Twos Times Two
Author: Marzipan
Date: 06-28-13 18:17
When Weston arrived at the quarters he shared with his wife and two sons, he found three of the two in tears. Vallon sat on the floor in the living area and wailed, his face red and wet. Carter stood near his aunt/mother as she knelt on the floor, clutched at her sleeve with one hand and held onto a baby blue blanket with the other, and sniffled.
Marzi leaned over an open toy box, scrabbling for something at the very bottom. Surely something would appease Vallon, who had been crying nonstop ever since his favorite toy had been taken away from him.
"Aha!" Marzi exclaimed, sitting up with a wooden, wriggling worm toy the approximate size of the irreplaceable nesting doll in her hand. The worm was painted two shades of green and could be manipulated into different shapes, with the potential for entertaining toddlers for longer than just a few seconds.
She turned carefully toward Vallon, since Carter was still attached to her sleeve, and held out the worm.
"Here's a nice toy, Vallon!" Marzi exclaimed. "Don't you want to play with it?"
In response, Vallon tipped back his head, closed his eyes, and yelled out "NO!!!!" before collapsing into a hysterical fit of crying.
Defeated, Marzi sighed and looked up at her husband. "I probably should have thought of this sooner, but maybe we should just find him another nesting doll, preferably one that isn't a cursed person."
"And if he doesn't like it because it's not the one?" Weston asked, stooping to sweep his crying son into his arms.
"Then I suppose we will have to grin and bear it until he gets it out of his system."
She started returning the various toys she had taken out of the toy box, with Carter still sniffling and clinging to her sleeve.
"What's wrong with him?" Weston asked, rubbing Vallon's back, but to no avail. The wailing continued in his ear.
Marzi looked at her nephew/son. "He's just mimicking Vallon." She added a few more toys to the box and then shut the lid on it. Then she picked up Carter and carried him to his high chair.
Weston started to place Vallon in his, but the toddler arched his back in protest and continued to cry.
"So this is what the terrible twos are like?" Weston remarked with a small grin.
Marzi rolled her eyes. "And we're having twice the fun." To Carter she asked, "What do you think, Carter? Broccoli and cheese or spaghetti?" There was no way she was taking the children to the Great Hall for supper tonight.
"'coli an' cheese," Carter said between sniffles.
Vallon wailed louder and kicked his legs at Weston. "Pasghetti!!"
"I asked Carter what we are having tonight," Marzi said. "We're going to have broccoli and cheese, and maybe we'll eat spaghetti tomorrow."
"Let's leave Mummy to fixing supper, Val," Weston said, carrying the impossible child to another room.
Even the closed door didn't seem to dampen his screams. Marzi wondered who could hear the poor child through the thick castle walls. She cast a quick look over her shoulder at Carter and sighed in relief when she noted that he didn't seem to be as teary-eyed now that Vallon wasn't in the same room with him. She set to work fixing supper and hoped that Vallon wouldn't send everything flying across the room when it became time to sit down and eat.
Does Not Seem Legit (Indigo)
Author: Travis
Date: 06-28-13 19:33
With Matt and his wife on holiday to visit some relatives in British Columbia, Cananda, Coco is taking the on call shift tonight for any emergencies and will be checking on a few patients. She can't be here for a few hours yet so Indigo decided he'll stick around until then and work on doing some reorganizing on the shoppe side, leaving just long enough to take his various own fur babies home. It's not uncommon for him to bring many of them with him each day.
Indi has just checked on a cat with some broken ribs, wanting to ensure the feline friendly version of Skele-Gro is working as it should. There is not quite a half-hour left before official closing time but as everything is quite for the moment aside from the barks, meows, and bird noises from both the veterinary side and the shoppe side Indi studies the diagram he's drawn as part of his reorganization plan. Before he starts moving any of the shelving units he makes a circuit through the shopped putting a charm over everything to prevent any of the merchandise from falling off.
He's about three-quarters of the way through when the bell over the door tinkles. Stepping into view, he greets the stocky man around his own age and of slightly less than average height. "Good evening. Is there something in particular I can help you with?"
The man does a sort of head tilt with a chin thrust by way of acknowledging Indi. "'Allo. I'm lookin for the MacFusty bloke what owns the place."
"I'm Indigo MacFusty."
The man steps forward, thrusting out a hand towards Indi who takes a few steps in turn to accept the outstretched hand. "Lane Brewster. Good to meet ya."
"What may I do for you, Mr. Brewster?"
"Call me Lane. I've gotten into breedin and was hopin to do some business with you."
"Breeding of ?"
"Dogs. Right now mostly Spaniels - English Springer, Welsh Springer, English Cocker, Irish Water, and Picardy - purebred of course, but also a couple of mixed breeds. Schnoodles and Maltichons."
That Lane Brewster is offering himself as a breeder of seven types of dogs has Indi's hackles up though he doesn't show it. Legitimate breeders, be they wizarding folk or Muggle, tend to deal with no more than two breeds. A very small number handle three. Making sure he keeps to the somewhat friendly tone that has been established in what little has been said so far, Indi asks, "And you are licensed?"
"Yes, just got all the parchment work in order. You'll be wantin to see I'm guessin."
"I do, yes. I like to be assured that all the breeders I work with are licensed and registered and, if possible, I'd like to see your dogs."
"That's why I'm here. I'm hopin you'll like what I have to offer and want to do business. I know it's late in the day but wanted to meet face to face if you were here and thought p'raps we could schedule a regular type meeting."
Feeling certain he's that Brewster runs a puppy mill, Indi would like to have confirmation on this and see Brewster put out of business, heavily fined, and even do some prison time depending on how bad the situation is. That means he has only one recourse on how to respond. "A meeting sounds good. I have an office this way. Let's go have a look at my schedule for the next few days to see what works for both of us."
Five minutes later Lane Brewster leaves, once again shaking Indi's hand, a smile on his face. Indi locks up behind him and turns the sign from OPEN to CLOSED, then returns to casting that charm on the shelves, his mind on who he'll speak to at the Ministry in the morning about putting an end to a budding puppy mill.
(Jasmine Serano) Roasted and Toasted
Author: Xiomara Sofia Serano
Date: 06-29-13 17:17
Pain.
It is a tangible thing. I'd knocked over the small burner that mother uses for her incenses and small potions and burned myself. Alexander had to rush me to St. Mungo's after sending an owl to Mother to alert her that I was here and what foolish thing I'd done.
He'd not realized that the potion that I'd been working on was something that I shouldn't be messing with. Of that, I was thankful, and ultimately I'd gotten most of it cleaned up before the pain of the burns had forced me to call for help.
Unfortunately, this put a set back in my plan with my friend because the potion is gone. All of it. Not even enough remains to cover a 1x1 inch square of the painting that he is trapped within. I will have to break the news to him when I got home, and I knew he wouldn't be happy, but it doesn't mean that I couldn't try again.
Right now, the burns were bandaged, and I'd been given a potion for the pain and the healer was going over a few things with Mother, who had arrived to relieve Alexander and had not yet spoken to me.
The pain potion made me sleepy, and everything was fuzzy thanks to the potion and the slightly dulled pain of the burns on my hand. I hadn't even used the wand and it almost made me glad, because I had no explanation to give as to why I was using a strange person's wand for casting fire spells.
Eventually I was released and Mother could take me home. It did make me glad for the pain potion, because I had no desire to fully remember the scolding and possible grounding that would come when we reached home.
I'd disappointed her and my friend in the painting, and I'm not sure which disappointment hurt more at this point in time.