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(Arielle) Distractions
Author: Jolyon
Date: 11-09-14 15:29
Arielle sat in Muggle Studies class, which usually took place at Cloud's Kiss, a really impressive home filled with all sort of gadgets and instruments she had never even heard of before, much less seen with her own two eyes. She had signed up for Muggle Studies for that very reason, to learn about a world of which she knew absolutely nothing. It was really fascinating, but Arielle nonetheless felt terribly distracted.
Ever since learning her dad was dating her aunt, Arielle felt immensely disappointed and almost a little betrayed. She knew it was silly to feel that way, especially since her parents had split up for a reason all those years ago. They probably weren't compatible enough to make it work. Arielle secretly hoped that her father wasn't compatible with Aunt Lorrie either. She would rather have him date somebody else altogether if getting back together with her mother was totally out of the question.
There was small comfort in knowing that her mother didn't seem keen on her ex-husband dating her baby sister. Merrie never said anything to Arielle about it and tried to act normal around her kids, but Arielle was old enough to realize her mother was pretending everything was all right. Arielle wasn't sure why her mother was against the relationship, though. Merrie still seemed happy with Lancelot, so jealousy didn't seem like the issue. Maybe it was just a strange thing for Jolyon to be dating Lorrie after having been married to Merrie, even if the marriage had been ages ago and short-lived.
Besides feeling disappointed by her father's relationship with her aunt, Arielle also felt awkward around him. Gone were the days when she would go to the barn just to hang out with him. She went there twice a week for class, but she never got there early and she refused to linger afterwards either. Her father never asked her to stay after class, as if he felt her disappointment and the fact that she wished to keep her distance. Arielle was glad he didn't reach out to her, but a small part of her wished he would. She missed spending time with him.
She realized she was still seated while everyone else was preparing to floo back to the castle. Professor Miller stood before her and asked her if she were all right. She nodded her head and eased a small smile onto her face, and then she got her things together and joined the queue at the fireplace.
A short while later she exited the Muggle Studies classroom. She wavered between climbing to the seventh floor to Gryffindor Tower or going down a level to the Common Common Room. The latter won out, but Arielle instantly regretted the decision when she literally collided into Asher in the doorway. He rammed her hard enough for it to hurt and her books to go flying. Instead of apologizing and offering to help pick up her things, Asher muttered an insult and stalked off to wherever he was headed.
Arielle grimaced and knelt to collect her things.
"Here, let me help you."
Arielle looked up to see Ollie Choate kneel down and begin picking up her books. He had been in her Muggle Studies class and had apparently had the same idea about killing time in the Commons before dinner. For some reason, Arielle felt her cheeks grow warm.
"Thanks," she murmured.
Ollie put everything in a neat pile and handed it to her. "There. That's better." He beamed at her, and they both got up.
"Thanks," Arielle said again.
Ollie said, "No problem," and entered the Commons. Arielle waited half a beat and then followed him inside, making her way to the bar while he joined some of his friends. She put her books down on an empty stool next to the one she sat on and ordered a butterbeer from the house-elf on duty. Maybe the ice cold drink would help cool down her burning face!
Lobster Mushrooms
Author: Marzipan
Date: 11-10-14 09:08
Professor Ravenscroft entered Greenhouse Two just ahead of her second year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students and cast a quick eye around the cozy, plant-filled glass enclosure to make sure everything was as she had left it yesterday evening. With the start of classes having started on a Tuesday instead of a Monday this school year, her classes were all slightly off-kilter. Where she would normally teach the same content to both second year classes on Friday mornings, the material studied today would overlap only a little. Marzi looked at it as keeping her on her toes.
The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students found their regular places around the main work table and looked at the strange-looking, red objects laid out in flat, wicker baskets or growing in pots filled with moss and bits of wood. After their professor checked attendance, she launched into the first of two topics for the class period.
"Hypomyces lactifluorum, or the lobster mushroom, is not a mushroom at all. Who can tell me what it actually is?"
Nichole Fisher tentatively raised her hand and said, "It's a parasite that feeds on mushrooms."
"That's right," Marzi said with a smile. "Three points to Hufflepuff."
She summoned a few parasitic-free mushroom species to the table and said, "The lobster mushroom is especially fond of milk-caps and brittlegills, which are edible species of mushroom. Infected mushrooms are not poisonous at all and in fact are widely eaten and commercially marketed. The specimens in the baskets came from The Magic Neep, if anyone is interested in having a taste."
The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs all looked at each other, as if daring one another to try a mushroom. In the end, Bowen Goodnight was the bravest. He broke off a tiny piece of the reddish-orange mushroom and popped it into his mouth. He chewed it slowly, and everybody except their professor watched closely and waited for him to vomit or spit it out of his mouth.
Bowen swallowed down the mushroom and said, "It tastes kind of like fish."
"Yes, even though the name lobster refers to its appearance, it does taste a bit like seafood. Some even have a spicy flavor, depending on the mushroom variety. Three points to Gryffindor for being adventurous!" Marzi added, grinning.
She talked a little more about the mushroom, while some of the other students decided to give it a try, though nobody else earned points for their efforts. Then she gave them their homework assignment, which was to write an essay on mushroom parasites. Class was far from over at that point, however. Professor Ravenscroft banished the lobster mushrooms and summoned pots containing alligator weed.
Vienna, Austria: Vault 730
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 11-10-14 11:55
As in many major cities around the world, the Vieenese wizarding area is tucked away where no Muggle would think to look on the rare chance they possess the knowledge that wizards and magic even exist. The main wizarding thoroughfare is located in the old part of the city, through a narrow alley off Graben Street.
In the olden days, a fountain adorned with four lion's heads stood near the wizarding entrance. The old fountain has since been rebuilt with figures of saints, but any wizard passing by can still see the lions. They point the way to the Löwentor, or Lion Gate, which marks the entrance to the wizarding world. A Muggle sees nothing but the narrow alley, dark and uninteresting, but a wizard sees a big wooden door with a lion's head for a knocker.
Fritz crosses over to the door and looks around at the Muggle passersby. They brush past him as if they don't even see him, but he knows that can't be true. What would they see if he raised his hand to the knocker? A crazy person pantomiming to nothing and no one? He only gives it a fleeting thought before lifting the iron ring on the knocker and letting it crash down onto its base.
A slit materializes in the ancient wood and slides open, revealing a pair of eyes so dark brown they look nearly black. A gruff, masculine voice asks him in German what he wants.
Fritz explains he needs to visit the bank and even holds up a little key as proof. It's the key that mysteriously arrived at work and which fits no Gringotts vault. He knows, because he tried. Fritz went to the bank in Hogsmeade first and then to the one in Diagon Alley. The bankers in Hogsmeade were very helpful, but it was a goblin in Diagon Alley who pointed him all the way to Vienna.
The slit slides closed with finality, but just when Fritz thinks the gatekeeper won't allow him to enter, he hears a bolt unlock and the door opens wide, revealing an alley that looks far wider and much busier than Fritz expected. He walks in, seeing a short, stubbly-looking wizard seated on a stool by the gate, who grumbles something and points a finger partly covered in coarse black hairs down the alley.
"Thanks," Fritz replies, before moving along down the alleyway. It's not unlike Diagon Alley. There are shops and restaurants at every turn, and the buildings all look cramped but are no doubt more spacious than appearances allow. He passes a wand shop, a robe shop, and a cauldron shop, before stopping to admire a bakery with giant pretzels in the window. Maybe he'll get one on his way out.
Fritz continues along until he reaches a corner building that is made of pale gray, quarried rock. Over the gleaming double doors is the name W&W Bank. As soon as he reaches the doors, they open as if by magic, but once inside Fritz sees that there are two doormen sharply dressed in navy uniforms. He makes his way down the stone hall and stands in line, which is short and moves quickly.
He soon finds himself in front of a goblin teller. Fritz explains his situation and hands over the key, which the goblin takes a good deal of time examining. Every so often, the goblin stares at Fritz as if he is there under false pretenses. Fritz doesn't know that the goblin would already know it if Fritz was there for any other reason than good intent. There are security measures all over the building, even the hall in which he now stands.
At long last, the teller hands over the key and directs Fritz to a bank of lifts. There, Fritz is greeted by another goblin, who takes him down a number of levels before they exit and climb into a mining cart. The cart goes at full speed, twisting and turning like a rollercoaster before it stops suddenly in front of a vault numbered 730. The goblin gets out, and Fritz follows. Fritz hands over the key again, which the goblin inserts into the lock along with one of his own.
There is a great deal of clicking and whirring and then the thick door swings open, revealing a vault full of items, including a lot of gold. Some of it is covered in a thick layer of dust. Fritz's mouth falls open.
"Whose vault is this?" he finally asks.
The goblin looks up at Fritz and says, "One Miss Verena Beatenberg."
Bridal Gowns
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 11-10-14 15:29
Being on the air daily meant Bronwyn couldn't take off from work any time she felt like it, so her time off was usually planned well in advance. Sometimes her time away from the WWN followed her schedule, but other times the network put her on holiday for their own reasons. This week was a case of the latter.
Bronwyn didn't mind the time away from work. It was paid time off, so she really couldn't complain. Plus, it gave her time to do other things.
Knowing Bronwyn didn't have to work all week, Chance took all day Friday off so they could have a girl's day out. Bronwyn had the idea to visit a Muggle bridal shop near Charing Cross Road. The shop was called Berketex Bride and specialized in bridal gowns, bridesmaids dresses, and wedding accessories like tiaras and veils.
They spent the beginning of their visit selecting gowns for Chance to try on. Then, Bronwyn sat down in front of a raised dais behind which were mirrors angled to show off the prospective brides from all sides. An attendant named Britney helped Chance into the first dress, which was a gorgeous ballgown with an organza skirt, crossover bodice, and beading. Chance looked like a princess.
Rather than tote along a wizarding camera that might draw question from the Muggle bridal attendants, Bronwyn used a disposable camera she picked up in a nearby store for this very purpose. If the bridal shoppe ladies found it strange that Bronwyn was using a throw-away camera instead of a digital camera or mobile, they didn't show it. Bronwyn planned on having the photographs developed today so that Chance could remember which dresses she liked and which she didn't.
The next dress was a embroidered tulle and satin dress with a flattering v-neck and low back. The third dress was a short strapless number with a pleated bust and ruched skirt.
Chance tried on dress after dress in all styles and varying shades of white. Bronwyn snapped picture after picture and soon regretted picking up only one camera. It only took 27 pictures and she always took more than one photograph of each dress Chance tried on (front, back, and so on).
Chance soon got weary of trying on gowns and decided to look at accessories next. She tried on shoes and veils and looked at clutch purses and hair flowers. Britney pressed a brochure with bridesmaids dresses into both Bronwyn and Chance's hands and pointed out all the different colors from which they could choose. When Chance mentioned her wedding colors were already picked out and that they were navy and silver, Britney immediately pulled various dresses in those two colors off the racks and pressed them into Bronwyn's arms.
Bronwyn politely declined them and said, "Today's trip is all about the bride. I'm sure we'll come back and have a look at the dresses another time."
Britney looked disappointed, especially when Chance and Bronwyn left the store without buying anything at all. The girls linked arms and walked towards The Leaky Cauldron.
"After all that hard work, what say you to getting some lunch?" Bronwyn asked.
Chance nodded and said, "Sounds like a fine idea to me."
Undercover
Author: Alaia Rothstein
Date: 11-10-14 15:34
The bell above the door rang and Divina went up front to tend to the customers.
"Hello, Miss. Is Miss Rothstein in?"
"Yes." Divina said and turned to get her. "Miss Rothstein there are some men out front that would like to speak with you."
Alaia laughed at the fact that her best friend called her Miss Rothstein. "Alright." She said and walked up front. She wiped her hands of the flour that was all over them and looked at the men waiting for her. "How can I help you gentlemen?"
"We are from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement we are doing some undercover work."
"Undercover..." Alaia mouthed the words trying to digest what they had just told her. "Why are you doing undercover work here in my bakery?"
The two men looked at each other and then back to Alaia. "We are not at liberty to tell you right now. You can just go about your day like we were not even here. We will just hang out and watch your customers as they come and go."
Alaia slowly bobbed her head and stared at the men not fully understanding what was going on."
Hearing something behind her Alaia turned and saw Lee standing there. "Hi, Baby, these men here are from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and they want to do a stake out on the shoppe. What do you think?"
Lee eyed the men, he knew them from work of course but they were playing along that they did not know each other. "I would go along with it. I know you've heard the rumors about drugs being placed in sweets..."
Alaia perked up, "You don't think that I..."
"No, ma'am we don't we just want to see if there are people coming in buying large amounts of the ingredients needed for this new drug."
"I see." Alaia said softly and took Lee's hand in hers. She looked at Lee and he nodded his head urging her to cooperate with the men from the Ministry.
"Alright." She said.
"We won't interfere with your customers unless there is cause to do so." Alaia nodded her head and squeezed Lee's hand, he squeezed her hand back and she smiled softly at him.
"Are you off to work?" She asked. "Yes, but not after we have some lunch."
Alaia smiled and told Divina and the other girls that she was going to lunch and would be back in an hour.
Radley's Missing
Author: Eoghan
Date: 11-10-14 19:18
Lucy Hewitt stalks from one end of the room and back again. "Bad enough Jermaine's two days overdue but you force me to endure Riordin's presence."
"Give it a rest," Sherman snaps.
Sherman sounds weary, and with reason. The last he heard from Jermaine Radley was when Radley was leaving for a meet with a contact out of New York. Since then he's not checked in. He's not at his place nor is Radley at any of the safe houses he knows of. As of a half hour ago he's not at St. Mungo's. All Muggle hospitals within two hundred miles of his meeting location have also been checked with similar negative results.
"What did the contact have to say?" Eoghan asks from his position sitting on a window seat, fiddling with one of the curtain tie backs.
"Say about what?" Lucy's tone makes it clear she would prefer Eoghan weren't there but if he has to be, he should keep his mouth shut.
"Say about the meet. Did Jermiane show up for it? Was anything off or odd?"
"He said he didn't have anything set up with Jermaine."
Sherman's head whips around, his glare boring holes into Hewitt. "You didn't tell me this, Lucy."
"We've been rather busy."
"You bloody well know that's not an excuse. Damn important bit of information and you don't pass it on for two fecking days?"
"He wasn't there. He had no useful information."
Eoghan sighs, "That he said there was no meet is useful to know."
"What do you know of it?" Lucy practically snarls.
Sherman's glare hardens even more. "Eoghan knows enough to know you've cocked up badly." Speaking slowly, almost condescendingly he spells it out. "Either the contact is lying or someone who knows he's someone Jermaine and you use took that information to set up a bogus meeting, luring Jermaine into a trap. If lying, the question then becomes whether he was part of whatever's happened to Jermaine or if something took place after the meeting. If after, what might this contact know?"
"I've never had a reason to doubt him in the past. I took him at his word," Lucy huffs.
"YET IT NEVER OCCURRED TO YOU THAT JERMAINE WAS OFF TO MEET SOMEONE?"
Sherman's shouting at such a loud volume has Lucy shrinking back. Not wanting to have Sherman's ire switched to him, Eoghan does nothing to draw attention to himself.
Several minutes of dead quiet pass, Lucy visibly working hard to maintain some semblance of composure. She cringes when Sherman breaks the silence with an overly calm, "Well?"
"At that point all I could think about was Jermaine missing."
"Give Eoghan your contacts information."
"What?"
Sherman's expression has Lucy hastening to obey. After she's told Eoghan what he needs to know Sherman instructs, "Go talk to him. Be careful. Get in touch through HQ soon as you can." Sherman pulls a Muggle pound from a pocket. He goes through the short process of turning it into a portkey, which he then hands Eoghan. "Be quick as you can but be thorough."
He looks again to Lucy. "Let's go." Sherman has no need to say where. A shakey nod and she disapparates. "Get in touch through HQ. If I'm not there, someone will know where I've gone."
Seconds after Sherman has disapparated as well, the portkey activated, Eoghan too vanishes from the small house.
Rhubarb & Thistle
Author: Griet
Date: 11-11-14 13:39
"Remember, you're to let me do all the talking," said Ricarda Haverton, as she pulled down the sleeves of her pinstriped robes and quickly checked her reflection in the polished surface of the mahogany table in the room. "All I want you to do is hand me the compensation package, which I will then hand over to the employee. Got it, Griet?"
"Got it," Griet replied.
After months of training, Griet was finally participating in a real world scenario––only as an observer and not the actual bearer of bad news. The "Sorry, but you've been sacked" monologue would come from Ricarda herself.
Ricarda had delivered a variation of the same speech countless times. To Griet, she looked cool and confident, but she also possessed undertones of sympathy and understanding. Griet, on the other hand, felt like a nervous wreck, and she wasn't even the one losing her job.
It wasn't long before a witch no older than Griet herself entered the small conference room and sat down across from the women from HR Solutions. She was very pretty, with honey-blonde hair, wide blue eyes, and creamy white skin. The witch, whose name was Haley Pierce, wore a pink top, a black suit jacket, and a pencil skirt.
"Thanks for coming, Ms. Pierce," Ricarda said. "My name is Ricarda Haverton and this is my colleague Griet Vanderbilt. We're talking to you on behalf of management. It is no secret that Rhubarb & Thistle has been undergoing financial trouble. As such, the company has found it necessary to make some cuts…"
She went on, using a lot of big words and catch phrases to describe the company's lack of profit and the need to cull the number of employees on the payroll. Ricarda expertly made it sound like sacking Ms. Pierce was the last thing management at Rhubarb & Thistle wanted, but unfortunately, there was no other way to keep the company up and running. At Ricarda's cue, Griet passed over the parchmentwork detailing Ms. Pierce's severance pay and financial information for many years down the line when she reached retirement age. Ms. Pierce left the conference room with tears in her eyes but somehow felt less awful than she thought she might at learning she was losing her position with the company.
"And that's how it's done," Ricarda said to Griet, after Haley Pierce closed the door behind her upon leaving the room. "She's understandably upset, but the blow wasn't as hard as it could have been."
"You sounded compassionate while being totally upfront and final about the whole thing," Griet said, impressed. "Now what?"
"Now we deliver the news to the next employee on the list."
Ricarda sacked a dozen more employees of the potions manufacturer before their work was done. Afterwards, they were joined by a handful of wizards in business attire. Most of them were middle-aged, if not a little older, but one was on the young side. If Griet had to guess, he was older than her, but probably not by too many years.
She and Ricarda had already met the chief human resources officer and members of his staff, but not any of the others on the management team. They were quickly introduced, and Griet learned that the young guy's name was Valentijn Vanriet. He was the branding manager for the company.
Ricarda did all the talking, and soon they were on their way back to the office. It wasn't until Griet was back at her desk that she allowed herself to think about Valentijn. She hadn't given any guy as much as a second of thought since leaving Tucker, having felt too heartbroken and angry to want anything to do with love and men. Her interest in the young manager at Rhubarb & Thistle suggested she might finally be ready to move on with her life. Too bad she was unlikely to ever seen him again.
(Patricia) The Newt
Author: Sophie McCourt
Date: 11-11-14 14:01
Patricia didn't have the Fitness & Athletics class but that didn't mean she couldn't have access to the girls' locker room. There was no living soul inside the division as everyone was out in the pitch having their class. Patricia wondered around the locker room until she found out what she was looking for: Susan Fricks' belongings. With rapid movements she opened the bag she brought with her and pulled out a jar with a living newt inside. Carefully, she opened it and placed the creature inside Susan's towel, making sure it would not escape until the moment she would unfold it.
She left the locker room with a mischief smile on her face. Slytherin Fitzwilliam Bates was waiting at the entrance, guarding the door for her. He had decided to play along in the prank not because he had anything against Susan but he was always up to cause some embarrassing to others for his own amusement.
"Is it done?" he asked, when Patricia appeared at the door.
"Yes. Now let's go!"
Patricia and Fitzwilliam hide behind a large tree, waiting for Coach Krum to dismiss the class. Finally they heard his whistle at a distance and a horde of students walked in groups or alone towards the locker rooms. Patricia waited anxiously as she spotted Susan crossing the doorstep. Fitzwilliam was restless and impatient because nothing was happening. He wanted to go back to the castle, thinking that Patricia's idea hasn't worked and that the newt might have escape its towel prison. She told him to be patient, but she too was starting to lose confidence in her stratagem to scare Susan.
She had seen her talking to Caleb during the Club Day. Patricia had not given much importance to it until the very first meeting of Book Group, at the library. There she was, proudly holding her book she had just finished reading. Patricia had not read the book at all; she just wanted to spend more time with Caleb and the Brook Group was a more appealing option than the Gobstones Club. During the entire gathering Patricia had been clueless about what was being discussed, while Susan had shyly contributed in the end with her opinion and Caleb had awarded her with a kind smile.
The negative feelings she had towards Susan were multiplied by one hundred on that very moment, and Patricia decided to cause some embarrassing to her. She had thought very hard on a prank that would not incriminate her. People would think the newt had simply gotten inside the locker room, perhaps by an open window, and that it had installed itself in Susan's towel by chance. No one would lose house points; no one would have a detention. The wild creature would be the one to blame. The only problem would be if Susan was not afraid of the newt. Patricia decided against asking her about it very innocently and trust on Susan's anxious nature. She was hoping she would freak out once the living new jumped out of her towel.
"Nothing is happening. We should get closer and take a peek to the windows."
"No, Fitz, or they will know it's our fault. It will have to look as if we were passing nearby."
Fitzwilliam nodded, with reluctance. Then there was a loud scream of pure terror. Susan had probably just unfolded her towel and the poor newt had fallen in her body or at her feet. Patricia heard the agitation inside the locker room. She wished she could step inside and witness the whole incident, but she knew it would look suspicious if she did so. After the initial scare, things seemed to have gotten to normal and later the girls started leaving the locker room. Patricia waited against the tree for Susan to come out. She was one of the last girls to do so and she seemed to have lost all the color in her face because of the fright she had just caught. Fitz smiled and walked away, having no more business there. But Patricia couldn't help to feel bad about what she has just done due to Susan's troubled face.
Guilt was a terrible thing and after a moment she went after Susan. She asked what happened and Susan explained it to her. It didn't give Patricia the pleasure she thought she would gain by tormenting her colleague. Patricia decided to spend the rest of the day with Susan, and somehow try compensating what she has done to her by giving her some comfort and attention, but of course without revealing she has been the one who had made her feel miserable.