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Cleopatra and Midas
Author: Josie
Date: 12-23-14 14:51
Fifteen minutes after my class with the sixth years, the alchemy classroom got filled with students again, this time from the seventh year. I wished everyone a good afternoon as they took their seats and displayed their textbooks, quills and parchments on their desks.
"As you know we have been talking about Transmutation. In today's lesson we will be talking about two famous alchemists who have stood out in their efforts to master the art of Chrysopoeia. We have discussed this concept before. Miss Ratcliffe, perhaps you can remind the class about it…"
Drizella Ratcliff from Slytherin was clearly not paying attention to what was being said as she looked to the view outside the window. I thought that involving her in the discussion would bring her interest back. She hesitate a bit but she finally replied that Chrysopoeia was the term that meant a specific kind of transmutation, the gold one. Simply it meant turning any object into gold. I thanked Drizella and awarded three points to the Slytherin house for her effort. Then I continued with the lecture.
"The very first alchemist of whom we have records of dominating the art of transmutation is no less than Cleopatra the Alchemist."
"Wasn't she a Muggle ruler of the Egypt?" Hufflepuff Hugo Haiti asked.
"No. This was a different Cleopatra. As a matter of fact the name 'Cleopatra' is a pseudonym for a witch who lived in the III century in Alexandria. We do not know her real name since such information has been lost among centuries, but her fame and her works still prevail. There is a papyrus that contains information about her work named Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra."
I kept talking about Cleopatra's work and how it was believed she could indeed turn things into gold.
"I have read somewhere that she was one of the possible inventors of the alembic…" Ramona Mickle shared with the class, after she had raised her hand in the air and I gave her permission to talk.
"That is correct Miss Mickle. Three points to Ravenclaw!" I enjoyed when the students participated in class by sharing their own opinions and facts.
After concluding the topic of Cleopatra the Alchemist, which was not very vast because of the little information known, I began talking about another wizard whose story was known both by Muggles and wizards.
"His name was Midas. Some historians believe he was a king who ruled a Muggle kingdom. Some say that it was so because he was a Muggleborn. Regardless his blood status he was not a studious alchemist like Cleopatra. He was not interested in the knowledge itself. He was driven by other ideals. Anyone can tell me which?"
A few hands were raised.
"Yes, Mr. Hodfuffer? "
"Greed, avarice…ambitious, perhaps?"
"Correct. Three points to Hufflepuff. He wanted to be become richer. He had the desire of turning into gold everything he touched."
"But didn't the Muggle legend say it was a satyr that gave him that power?" Cai Carter from Gryffindor asked.
"Yes. A satyr that was associated with the Greek god Dionysius. But that is not what is believed among the alchemists and our historians. It was a centaur that Midas met while on a walk by a forest. The centaur had not given him any power. Instead he just introduced Midas to the subject of alchemy, taught him the basics. And Midas worked hard to try and find Chrysopoeia. And he found it! But something must have gone wrong...The Muggles said that anything he touched turned into solid gold but we believe he simply lost control of his power. Sadly Midas was not a very careful alchemist and he did not leave any notes of his work.
The legend says the centaur is still alive, wondering around a deep forest in Asia and that he knows Mida's secret. Ever year there is a group of alchemists who go on an expedition to try find him, but no one has been able to track him yet, naturally."
The bell rang and I told the students to read Mida's biography on their textbooks for tomorrow. I also awarded Cai three points to Gryffindor for her contribution and I dismissed the class.
As I organized my notes while the students were leaving, I thought about a day at Hogwarts were Connor and I had planned to go to that Asian forest ourselves and track down the centaur, so we could discover Mida's secret. We had gone to the library and looked at a map in a book, trying to decide the forest's location. It had been the innocent ambitions of two teenagers obsessed with the Chrysopoeia. Years had passed and Connor was still in pursuit of it but in the form of the Philosopher's stone. I stood up and wondered if now that he won the Alchemist of the Year award he was still consumed by this project or if he had other goals in mind.
Meeting Remus And Hagrid For Lunch
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 12-24-14 19:25
Working a complaint desk isn't what Harry signed up for when becoming an Auror. He also can only take so much leave without becoming bored mindless. He loves his wife, their children, the pets, and their home but sitting at home or on holiday long enough and a certain type of boredom sets in. Ginny has said it's not true boredom so much as it is restlessness at the forced inactiveness and some anger at the distrust. He supposes she is correct because since returning to work, even if not as an Auror, he's not quite as bored but he's definitely got some anger stemming from others thinking that Harry Potter, the person who repeatedly screwed up Voldemort's plans and then killed the dark wizard, is in league with someone who's a Voldemort legacy of sorts simply because she's Harry's cousin.
Helping Hermione out with those fingerprints was a nice distraction, though short-lived. Since then, Harry has hoped she'd need other help or even ask him to do some investigating. So far, that hasn't happened. He's considered offering but as she's married to Ron who is an excellent Auror in his own right, Harry doubts he'd be all that needed and if he is, Hermione or Ron will ask, just a she did with those fingerprints.
Signing out, Harry is happy for a different sort of distraction: lunch with Remus and Hagrid. What's more, lunch is going to be preceded by the three of them looking over a house as a potential new Order of the Phoenix headquarters. The address had arrived in an encrypted Patronus message. The Patronus was used as a safeguard with the message encrypted to make it doubly so. Can't risk just anyone learning the address of what might possibly become a secret meeting location. Not when the likes of Rita Skeeter and others of her ilk are trying to find dirt on Harry that undoubtedly link him to Adriana as a colleague or co-conspirator or whatever you wish to call it.
Arriving at a trim little A-frame, Harry knocks then enters calling out, "Remus? Hagrid?"
Harry is visibly astonished when neither Remus nor Hagrid steps through a doorway from another room but Kingsley Shacklebolt. "They'll be here a little later, Harry. First, you and I need to talk somewhere prying ears at the Ministry can't listen in. Have a seat."
Having no inkling of what Kingsley might wish to speak to him about other than the Adriana issue they've already spoken of on several occasions, Harry sits down in the chair Kingsley's summoned as Kingsley sits in the chair's twin.
"I'll get straight why I employed our friends in a bit of subterfuge. I need to put you on another leave of absence "
"Why don't I just quit then? Wouldn't that be easier for everyone rather than perpetually keeping me away from the Ministry of Magic? I don't see why you need a hush hush meeting to tell me I'm to be on leave again."
"You misunderstand, Harry. I need to put you on leave so you can go undercover on a mission."
"To get close to Adriana," Harry states, his tone coming out sounding tired and dull.
"If I thought she'd fall for you coming over to her side, I'd be willing to try that; but, no, this is something else."
"Oh?"
"I need someone who can fit comfortably into Muggle settings and who is a trained Auror. Are you interested in hearing the details?"
Harry has to refrain from shouting, "Hell, yes!" Instead, he offers a restrained, "Do you really need to ask that?"
"Given the strain in our friendship and our working relationship because of matters concerning your cousin and those bloody information leaks at the Ministry, I thought it best to ask rather than order."
Over the next half hour, Kingsley fills Harry in. When Remus and Hagrid do arrive, he's got a good grasp of what's needed but Kingsley and he arrange to have another meeting tonight at another location Order members have used before. After the four men check over the A-frame and have a short discussion on adding it to the Order of the Phoenix safe house list, he leaves with Hagrid and Remus for the promised lunch, Harry thinks up an excuse for why he'll be signing back in at the complaint desk after a much longer lunch than usual.
(Mark) Reaction
Author: Isolde
Date: 12-26-14 17:41
When Mark came home from work on Monday evening, he found Capri in tears on the sofa. No amount of coaxing garnered any sort of reason for why she was upset, and though she cried into his shoulder whenever he put his arm around her, she almost seemed skittish and flinched at his touch.
The next day, Capri sent an owl to work, stating she was sick. She continued to cry and mope, but still wouldn't say what made her so sad. Mark ultimately attributed her sadness to some sort of female problem. He had never lived with a girl before and while he'd long known they had their special time of the month, he'd never experienced it in close proximity until moving in with Capri.
The next day, Wednesday, Capri sent another owl to work. She was still sick and couldn't possibly make it in to the office. She climbed back into bed after sending the owl off and weeped into her pillow.
Mark, meanwhile, got ready for work. He stepped out of the shower, his lower half covered in a towel, the rest of his body still glistening with water droplets, and moved around to Capri's side of the bed. She was curled up, clutching a wadded up tissue in her hand. Tear stains marred her face.
He bent over her and then brushed a stray strand of red hair out of her face. Capri flinched and brushed his hand away in a violent gesture. She stared at him with wide eyes that started brimming over with tears all over again.
Mark couldn't take it anymore. "What's wrong, Capri? Tell me what happened. Why are you so upset?"
She only whimpered at first, but then the floodgates opened and she told all. Mark felt his blood pressure sky rocket. When he heard enough, he threw on some clothes and took Capri to St. Mungo's. She let him without any argument.
While at St. Mungo's, a healer checked Capri out and then spoke to Mark about keeping her at least overnight. A psychiatric healer wanted to speak with her and keep her under observation, since she was understandably scarred by the event that took place.
The entire time Mark waited in the hospital, he itched to punch the wall out of anger, frustration, and impatience. When a law enforcement officer came to speak with Capri, Mark gave in to a very foolish thought.
He left the hospital and went to Little Red Books. Having been there before to visit Capri at work, the receptionist at the front desk recognized him and greeted him with a smile. He breezed past her and went straight to the office of Kyle Chaddock, who was busy dictating something to an eagle-feathered quill that wrote in loopy handwriting on eggshell-colored parchment.
Kyle looked up and abruptly stopped talking. The quill hovered in position, almost quivering with anticipation on what to write next. The expression on Kyle's face changed in rapid succession, which would have been comical if not for the situation. He finally decided on a sneer and boasted, "Your girl gave me a really nice time. Did she tell you how much she liked it?"
Mark didn't retort. He moved swiftly across the room and punched Kyle in the face. Kyle went down, and Mark jumped him and beat the hell out of Kyle's face. Mark didn't even notice that he had split open his knuckles. He punched repeatedly, with Kyle moaning and squirming beneath him but unable to escape the power and wrath of Capri's boyfriend.
When Mark finally noticed an ache in his arm, he got out his wand and jabbed it into the side of Kyle's neck. "Do you think it's funny now, Chaddock? Are you laughing now?" he yelled.
Kyle wasn't laughing. Blood gushed from his nose and his mouth, where Mark had knocked out some of his teeth.
Mark brought his wand down to Kyle's crotch with every intention of making it impossible for him to ever follow an urge to take a girl who didn't want him, when law enforcement officers burst into the office and arrested them both.
Mixed Emotions
Author: Plum
Date: 12-26-14 20:00
The nurse gives Plum a comforting pat on the shoulder. "I'm sorry."
Plum mutely nods, not trusting her voice just yet to speak, her eyes locked on the figure in the bed.
"I'll give you a moment."
After the nurse leaves Plum stands several minutes rooted to the same spot. When she at last moves to the bed, she picks up her father's hand, sad yet also angry. Memories of Evan Lancaster as a loving, sweet, charming, witty man war with those of him as an abusive drunk.
His healthy dodgy and steadily declining since Mary's death at the hands of Ryland Yaxley, Evan became ill enough three days ago to be admitted to St. Mungo's. Since then he's floated in and out of consciousness, the time between his waking moments become further and further apart. The healers weren't able to do much for him beyond making him comfortable.
Evan stopped breathing a short time ago and as Plum, with Anthony's help and support, had made a decision on that first day here not to take extreme life saving measures, when the healers and nurses weren't able to get his breathing started again, and his heart once it too stopped, Evan Alexander Lancaster was pronounced dead. Despite their often rocky relationship, Plum is glad she was here with her father when his breathing ceased.
Her chest so abruptly feels constricted that Plum practically falls into a sitting position onto the bed. She's not exactly sure when the tears begin as it seems one second she's not crying and the next she's quietly sobbing. Taking a few deep, hiccupy breaths, she regains some semblance of control, using her free hand to swipe each cheek and eye. Plum sits a little longer, hand clutching her father's, thumb stroking the skin that still retains warmth.
When the nurse returns she finds the sheet has been pulled up to fully cover Evan and Plum sitting in the only chair in the room, looking tired and drained. Before the nurse speaks, Plum is on her feet. "I should let my husband and a few others know and start seeing to the arrangements."
Plum moves to the bed, pulls the sheet back long enough to give her dad a kiss on the cheek, then leaves with a small smile aimed at the nurse, a hand in one pocket clutching a key Evan had given her this morning in a brief waking, somewhat lucid moment not long before falling unconscious once more, which was followed not all that long after by his breathing stopping. The key is obviously for a Gringotts vault, surprising given the near destitute state Evan was reduced to after Mary died. The vault and whatever its contents might be will have to wait despite Plum's curiosity. There are people to notify, Evan's few belongings to see to, and a funeral to arrange.
Exiting St. Mungo's for the Ministry of Magic to speak with Anthony, Plum can't decide whether to go on and get Alex from school and give him the news or wait a few hours until school is ended. He might be angry with her if she waits but by waiting a little while longer, she can go on and start on the funeral arrangements and getting those other people notified. Lips tightly pursed, she makes the decision to wait, then feels guilty at the feeling of relief she experiences for putting off telling Alex just yet that their father has died.
Tormented
Author: Celeste Quigley
Date: 12-27-14 15:26
Celeste walked behind the students, keeping an eye on their progress. She checked her watch, counted another minute and then said:
"Swap."
There was some noise as the star charts were passed between the students. Celeste believed that the qualities of a good astronomer included the skill to read any star chart with ease, either a wrong one, and complete it. So tonight she ordered the sixth years to work with a blank star chart, and begin mapping the sky with the help of their telescopes. Every five minutes she would tell them to swap the maps and they had to give them to the colleague seated next to them. They would have to continue to complete the map, and correct it in case they found some mistake. Sometimes the difficulty was in understanding what the other student had tried to map.
Arthur Fu seemed to be in real trouble as he tried to figure out what Liannah MacDougal had written in the chart map. He consulted the telescope twice, confused.
"You have to adjust your telescope's four degrees to the left, Mr. Fu," she warned him.
"Thanks, professor."
Celeste consulted her watch again: three more minutes to the next round. While she controlled the minutes she didn't have time to think about Elladora. It had been a shock, to encounter her at Hogwarts, when just a few weeks earlier she had managed to convince herself that such thing was impossible. She was moving to the living quarters right next to hers and Eugene's. Celeste had not been aware Minerva was thinking of hiring someone else and she got curious when she heard sounds on the other side of the wall. At first, she thought it might be a student playing a prank, or some couple in love, searching for a hiding place to be alone. She left her living quarters and she found herself face to face with Elladora.
Naturally, she had not recognized her. Elladora had never paid attention to her sister's friends and she wouldn't recall Allison Montgomery, the muggle born girl who became Celeste's best friend, defying her parents beliefs related to blood superiority. Not to mention it had been many years since they had seen each other, so it was comprehensible. Elladora was confused but she did not lost any time and she demanded an explanation, wanting to know who was the woman leaving her sister's living quarters. She also asked if her sister was inside.
Celeste remembered reaching out for her wand, just for precaution. She doubted that Elladora would make use of her wand in a school corridor, but still she was no fool: she had seen a few deaths happening in the castle for the past years and so she would not take a chance. The portraits on the wall observed with curiosity, all of them gathering in the same frame, whispering things at each other, probably gossiping.
She wanted to tell the truth to Elladora but she didn't think the corridor was the right place to inform her of her sister's death. It was not adequate and besides she feared even more what she might think about how she used Celeste's identity to save herself from the Nons camps. Sometimes, she felt guilty about it, because while she was living a good life at the castle right under the nose of the Ministry employees, some of her colleagues had been sent away and lived in very inhuman conditions. Illyria had been one of them and Severus himself has gone to Azkaban. But the worst part had been the children, her students. She had heard about the ordeal they have lived. Children who shared her blood status, no less. Of course no one blamed her for what she has done to escape the persecutions, and she would not trade the years she had passed at the castle for nothing, but there was a little bit of guilt that resided in Celeste's heart. She could see Elladora pointing fingers at her, when no one else had done it and Celeste didn't want to be confronted with that.
And so, instead of telling Elladora the truth, she said that Celeste was absent and she was another member of the staff, named Illyria, who had dropped some papers at her living quarters, related with Astronomy. Her colleague's name was the first one that came to her mind. Celeste then tried to politely chat with Elladora, trying to find out what she was doing at Hogwarts but she obtained no answer, as the other witch lost all the interest in her and dismissed her. She wanted to go immediately to Minerva's office to learn about Elladora's presence at the castle but she thought that it would be rude to do so. Besides, the headmistress had the right to hire whoever she wanted, even a former death eater. Albus Dumbledore had been known to give second chances to people and she thought Minerva was doing the same with Elladora. Later, at dinner time, Minerva informed the rest of the staff about Elladora but the witch herself did not appear at the Great Hall. It seemed like she preferred the solitude of her living quarters.
That had helped Celeste, who since then had not seen Elladora anymore. Truth to be told she had been avoiding her since then, praying Merlin she would not realize she had lied and she wasn't Illyria. The castle was big and had many hideouts and so far it had worked. But she knew it would be a matter of time until Elladora learned the truth. Eugene had wanted Celeste to pay a visit to Elladora's living quarters and have a talk with her. He wanted the two of them to go together. But Celeste kept delaying that moment, always making up excuses, saying she had essays to correct that could not wait, the Art Society sessions to organize, a student's detention she had to supervise, support the Slytherins when they played against Gryffindor…
"Swap again," she ordered her sixth years. Trying to keep her voice firm and not show them that something was tormenting her.
(Blakeney) Chess with Alys
Author: Ellis
Date: 12-29-14 18:23
Blakeney and Alys sat at a table in the common common room and played a game of chess. They didn't always hang out together at school, even though they got along well and were even somewhat close. Blakeney usually spent time with her roommate and friend Tessa, while Alys either kept to herself or hung out with Chip. By chance, they found each other in the commons and being alone, naturally gravitated to each other.
Blakeney contemplated a move for a long moment, gave the command, and watched as the chess piece glided across the checkered board to its new position. Then she looked up at Alys and said, "Your move."
Alys leaned back in her chair and said, "I'm actually getting a little hungry. Are you?"
"You're just trying to get out of finishing the game because you know I'll win," Blakeney said with a grin.
Alys stuck out her tongue and said, "You just have all the luck in the world."
"I don't know about that," Blakeney said, eyeing Chip. He had just walked into the room and leaned up against the bar, where he gave a drink order to the house-elf tending it.
Alys turned to look at who Blakeney was staring at and giggled.
"What?" Blakeney asked.
"Aren't you a little young to be crushing on boys?"
"I'm not crushing on anyone," Blakeney insisted, looking away from Chip to diligently put away all the chess pieces.
Alys smiled but didn't push it any further. Instead she reminded Blakeney that she had a letter to send off to their parents in the morning and should Blakeney wish to include anything, she ought to get it to her before then. Their newest siblings, twins Octavius and Petronella, would be turning two months old in a matter of days.
Alys got up then to talk to Chip. Blakeney watched them for a brief moment and then got up and left the common common room. She bumped into Tessa right outside the door.
"Oh!" she exclaimed.
"What's got you so startled?" Tessa asked. She turned and started to walk with Blakeney down the corridor.
"Nothing," Blakeney said. "Just you."
"I was coming to see if you were hungry yet. I suppose we could have gotten something there, but since you were leaving…" Tessa began, but then Blakeney shook her head and said, "We can eat anywhere."
"Great Hall, then?" Tessa asked.
"Sure."
They made their way there and sat down together at the Hufflepuff table. When Alys and Chip came into the Great Hall a few minutes later, Blakeney waited to see if they would sit together or part ways and go to their respective tables. She released her breath when Alys went to sit at the Ravenclaw table and Chip walked over to where Blakeney and Tessa were already seated. He passed them to join his roommates.
When Blakeney glanced at Tessa, she saw that her friend was looking at her with eyebrows raised. Blakeney immediately busied herself with her dinner, hoping Tessa wouldn't ask her any questions.
Much Needed Break (Cat)
Author: Fionna
Date: 12-29-14 18:59
Christopher leans over Catriona's shoulder. "Ready yet?"
Cat shifts back in her chair to look up at him. "I've taken out the last five paragraphs and started them over."
"You were wrapping up the last sentence or two when I went to check this book out," he says, eyebrows drawing together as he waggles the book at her.
"I didn't like that last sentence or two."
"Soooo change just those? What you have was great, you know."
"You don't have to pretend to be nice when this whole paper is the worst I've ever written."
"Not even a little true, Cat. You're just worried because this paper takes the place of a written exam."
"Maybe." She tosses her quill onto the table. "Speaking of exams, I need to get in some studying for my other courses."
"Dinner first."
Cat frowns at the pile of parchment in front of her that make up the all important paper. She really wants to finish this and be done with it, get it turned in, and give her full attention over to prepping for final exams next week. She also knows she's so frustrated that a break from the paper is what she needs. Cat also knows she needs to eat something other than snack food if she's to have a hope of staying up and getting the paper completed or getting any studying for other class done.
With reluctance she starts gathering her belongings. Christopher adds the just checked out book to his own bag then helps Cat. They exit the St. Emrys library debating where to go for supper, deciding to go somewhere full service over fast food even though it means taking longer. Cat steps through the Floo followed by Christopher and half a minute later they are being shown to a table at their favorite Indian restaurant and are munching on Naan while mulling over the menu.
Out In Plain Sight
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 12-30-14 18:47
Ethan bundled Lilly up in a pink peacoat and slipped a knitted cap onto her head. She could hardly wait to go outside, where it had started to snow a little bit. Ethan made sure she put on her mittens, and then pulled on his own gloves before opening the door leading out to the front steps of the castle.
By now, it was no secret that he was at Hogwarts. He and Lilly roamed the halls and grounds together and took many of their meals in the Great Hall. None of the students who knew him seemed bothered by his reappearance at the school, and if his coworkers worried over whether Minerva had made the right choice in letting him come back, they didn't show it.
It hadn't taken long for news of his return to Hogwarts to reach beyond the castle walls, though few letters of complaint had arrived for him or Minerva Ethan had expected many parents and some of Rita Skeeter's loyal readers to insist he go behind bars instead of be allowed to walk freely among children. After all, he was supposedly in league with Adriana Fairchild.
Despite being back at Hogwarts, and it being publicly known, Ethan still wasn't teaching his classes. Instead, he went through the motions of being regularly checked out by a healer with the general thought that if he were at risk of going evil again, a medical checkup would catch the "disease" before it could make him "sick". Minerva promised that he would be back to teaching come the start of Winter Term. Ethan could live with that.
In the meantime, he doted on his daughter and enjoyed his time off even though he sometimes felt stir crazy. With no classes to prepare for or teach, Ethan also found himself thinking a lot about everything that had happened to land him in his current state. He thought about his mother and how she was dead because of him. He thought about what his father must be feeling and how much he must hate him even more now than ever before.
Ethan also thought about Nero, Meadow, and Hattie. He wondered where they were and what they were doing. Did they know where he was?
"Snow!" Lilly exclaimed, turning in a circle with her arms out and her mittened hands turned up so she could catch the little snowflakes that drifted lazily to the ground. It wasn't the sort of snow to stick to the ground, or at least not for long.
Ethan soon forgot his thoughts and grinned at Lilly, whose smile was big and happy.
—
In another part of the country, Hattie shivered and wished that she had wrapped a scarf around her neck before donning her hooded cloak. At least the hood was fur-lined. The style was totally hers, if she were in her old body, but she was stuck as a spotty teenager who was growing like a weed. She hated being Penn Ellison, whose body had served its purpose long ago. If only she hadn't counted on a halfwit like Meadow O'Guinn to get her out of Penn's body.
At least Penn didn't quite look like the boy he had when he had escaped custody en route to Azkaban. It was why she roamed Knockturn Alley freely without any sort of disguise, other than the hood shielding her face.
She had spent the last few days scouting out sites in Knockturn Alley for a local base of operations for the Death Eaters. There were a few good prospects, but she was fairly certain one stood out above the rest. It seemed innocuous enough, being a standard junk shop with wares that were not as disreputable as one might find elsewhere in the area.
Hattie set her sights on the shoppe in question. She had to formulate the perfect plan to expropriate it for Fairchild. If Hattie failed, then Dorian Somerset would have the very great pleasure of ending her life.