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Dinner Meeting
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 05-11-15 19:06
Kingsley reaches for a chicken wing, dipping it into one of three sauces. "I sort of wish you hadn't brought these, Harry. I can't stop eating them."
"They are somewhat addictive, aren't they? Stumbled onto the place as Algernon."
"If I'd brought dinner, it probably would have been sandwiches from the Ministry canteen."
"No surprise there."
"Are you saying I'm predictable?" Kingsley asks with a grin, dipping another chicken wing, this one boneless.
"Not really, only that you were coming from the Ministry and would have been more concerned with making sure no one could trace you here than you would be on what to bring to eat."
"I think we should just have you provide the food for our meetings. Expense account of course." Kingsley reaches for a plate to help himself to some of the accompaniments. Sorry if I seem more interested in the food. I only had a light breakfast early on and got back up with meetings and taking care of issues that kept cropping up that I missed lunch."
"Serious issues?"
"One particularly so. One of the secretaries was caught giving over information to Rita Skeeter."
"You caught the mole."
"We caught a mole."
Harry pauses in the act of filling his own plate. "Are you ready to have everyone undergo questioning under Veritaserum?"
"I've considered it. There are a number of drawbacks there."
"The least of which is once word gets out, those with something to hide would be scrambling to have an antidote handy," Harry nods.
They both fall silent for a moment before resuming eating and turning conversation over to the reason for meeting at one the Order's safe houses: Harry's undercover work for Kingsley as Algernon.
Research
Author: Jet
Date: 05-12-15 19:30
Sitting at his desk within the Department of Magical Research, Jet reads over a project description that sounds much like one he knows of down in the Department of Mysteries. He briefly wonders if some projects start here and end up down there or start down there and end up here. Setting the parchment aside he turns his attention to his own current project.
There are many types of research done by the Department of Magical Research. Not being as familiar with the department as he is with others when accepting a job, Jet had ended up on a variety of projects until realizing he could use the job to his advantage in his effort to learn more about Cymdeithas y Sarff. The research he's doing is purely academic and because of what's gone on concerning Cymdeithas y Sarff and him, Minister Shacklebolt himself had to sign off on what Jet wanted to do.
Doing official Ministry research on Cymdeithas y Sarff has opened more avenues for Jet. He also learned that despite everything no one had ever delved deeply into the vast libraries and archives accessible to the Ministry. A one line reference in a book at Hogwarts in its library's restricted section, thanks to permission from Headmistress McGonagall, gave Jet what turned out to be a huge lead. He's since used that one line reference to find dozens of others buried in those vast resources open to his research.
Jet has slowly been filling in the many blanks on what Cymdeithas y Sarff is, beyond a secret organization with claims of ties to Salazar Slytherin. He's also getting an idea of why this secretive secret society wants the information it thinks is buried somewhere in Jet's mind. From what he's put together so far, it would seem that some of that information would give the group power. Exactly what sort of power and for what purpose he's still working on.
A knock has him looking up. A heavily pregnant Petra stands there. "Ready for lunch?"
Jet crinkles his brow. "I thought we were going around noon."
"Just past that now."
The crinkles deepen to furrows. "Is it? It was just past nine a minute ago."
"Getting lost in your research again, are you?"
Jet, rising and tidying his desk, lifts one shoulder. "I must have. So, what do you want for lunch."
Patting her stomach, Petra asks, "Do you really need to ask?"
For the past three weeks Petra has wanted mainly one type of food. "Thai it is, heavy on the spices," Jet says with a smile, following Petra down the hall to the nearest bank of lifts.
(Adriana) The End of Aris
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 05-13-15 17:48
Aris Sisco was tired. He was tired of having no control over his shoppe and residence. He was tired of Death Eaters traipsing in and out at all hours, not only using him but using up all of his resources. He was tired of not knowing if he would get through a single day without getting tortured both physically and mentally. He was absolutely, positively tired of what his life, or what remained of it, had become.
Fear was no longer the first emotion he felt whenever he awoke every morning, though it wasn't that he had grown used to his plight and didn't have any reason to feel frightened anymore. It was foolish not to feel scared when Death Eaters were your masters and you were not one of them. Aris' life was at risk every single day. Simply put, he was sick of it all and he wanted it to finally end with himself as the victor and the Death Eaters either dead or imprisoned.
The problem with not feeling scared anymore was that Aris didn't have anything to keep him in check. Fatigue led to wild ideas, which in turn led to recklessness. Aris wasn't so foolhardy as to do anything without even a little bit of forethought, however. He felt quite certain that most of the Death Eaters could overpower him with a single glance, but there was one he thought he could take.
In the many months since they had taken over, Aris had come to recognize some of the Death Eaters, either because they appeared in their own faces or because they used the same disguise over and over again during their many visits. Others changed up their appearances every so often, but not all of them hid their mannerisms well. Aris felt like he could tell most of them apart, even when they didn't always look the same. But despite his observations, he didn't necessarily know who exactly they were.
The one Aris felt was at most his equal always appeared the same way and was an oddity. He did not know this Death Eater's true story, but he sensed that there was much more to the Death Eater's appearance than met the eye. He also sensed that she was not a favorite of her leader. Her strangeness and the ridicule she sometimes faced from her peers made her an easy target.
The moment of truth presented itself at closing time. Aris locked the doors to Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, turned over the sign in the window from OPEN to CLOSED, and then closed the blinds as had become customary every since the Death Eaters selected his place as their London base of operations. Other than himself, there was no one else in the shoppe.
Aris went through his normal closing procedures after locking up and then went upstairs to his quarters, where only one Death Eater was present. The one they called Hattie, who looked like a pimply teenage boy instead of a grown woman, stood by the window with arms crossed. The Death Eater's back was turned, but Aris knew that Hattie knew he was there. He had not come up the stairs very quietly, and she could see his reflection in the darkened window.
Still, Aris acted. Without his wand, he had to use other measures to take down Hattie. He raced forward, gripping the back of a kitchen chair with the plan of turning it over and bashing it into Hattie's head, but she turned around with her wand in hand and hissed, "Crucio!"
Aris buckled, dropping the chair to the ground, and fell onto his knees. A burning, twisting pain blossomed across his chest and made breathing difficult.
"You fool!" Hattie exclaimed, advancing on him. "What did you think you could accomplish? You are weak! You can't overpower me!"
Aris bit back the pain he felt and started to scramble to his feet. He reached for the chair back again, but Hattie slashed her wand, causing a deep gash to appear diagonally across his chest. Aris dropped the chair again and fell back onto his heels, gritting his teeth together.
"I'm beginning to think you've outlived your usefulness," Hattie said. "I should kill you and do us all a favor."
"What are you waiting for?" Aris ground out. "Do it!"
It was a bluff, because Aris really didn't think Hattie would do it. If she did, she would be going against her mistress' orders, and that would be most unwise.
Hattie often acted rashly, however. A wicked grin spread across her face and then the words were out of her mouth before she could think about what she was doing. "Avada Kedavra!"
Green light surrounded Aris, and then he dropped dead, crashing face forward into the overturned chair.
Hattie grinned down at his lifeless form.
"What the hell did you just do?"
Hattie jumped, startled, and her grin vanished in an instant. She turned to see Adriana and Dorian standing in the doorway of another room of the flat. Adriana looked livid, but Dorian looked mildly amused.
Hattie shook her head. "It was self-defense!" she insisted. "He tried to kill me."
"With what?" Adriana asked. "He doesn't have a wand."
Hattie pointed in the general direction of the chair over which Aris was unceremoniously draped, but she didn't answer.
"I see," Adriana said, taking a step forward and fingering her wand. "You really thought he could best you. You were in fear of your life, so you acted."
Hattie nodded. "That's right," she said, her eyes flicking nervously between Adriana and Dorian.
"Did I give you permission to kill Aris?" Adriana asked.
Hattie shook her head. "No," she whispered.
"That's right, I didn't. You acted out of turn, just like you always do, and now you must suffer the consequences. You are a liability to me, Hattie. Do you know what that means?"
Hattie shook her head. "No, I––" Her wand flew out of her hand and clattered somewhere across the room.
Adriana pocketed her own wand, turned to Dorian, and said, "She's all yours."
Dorian took a step forward. He produced his wand from a coat pocket and wore the most satisfied of grins on his face. "I've waited a long time for this moment, Hattie… A very long time."
Worst Birthday Gift Ever
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 05-14-15 18:27
"And with that, Winter term has officially ended––at least in terms of Defense Against the Dark Arts!" announced Professor Somerset. He didn't have any more classes to teach, but he knew that some of his third year Gryffindor and Slytherin students had at least one more class to attend before day's end. "For those of you leaving Hogwarts for the break, have a safe journey and enjoy your time away from the castle. For those of you remaining behind, I hope you have a nice, relaxing stay. Happy Easter!"
The third years repeated 'Happy Easter' in varying tones of enthusiasm, gathered their things, and left the classroom for their dormitories, common rooms, or the Great Hall. Ethan, meanwhile, wrapped up a few things he didn't want to save for later and then followed his students into the corridor. Along the way to the Great Hall, he stopped at the daycare to pick up Lilly. She was covered in magic marker and didn't seem to have a care in the world.
By the time they reached the Great Hall, it was already somewhat crowded. Ethan sat down in the empty chair next to Severus and put Lilly in the seat on his other side. He secured a bib around her neck and then turned to his other neighbor.
"Finished for the day?"
"Mercifully," Severus replied.
Ethan chuckled and turned back to his daughter, fixing her a plate before he would fix his own. It was after he had finished with her and seen her eat a few bites that he first noticed the very large owl swoop in from the rafters. It carried in its strong, sharp talons a round, woven basket.
The owl eventually drew the attention of others in the Great Hall. Mail often came in the mornings, but it was certainly not unheard of for deliveries to arrive later in the day. The owl was also exceedingly large and the load it carried was not insignificant in size either. As the grey owl drew nearer and flew lower and lower, the fact that the bottom of the basket was stained red and appeared to be dripping escaped the notice of very few. Ethan started to rise even before it became clear that the owl was heading straight for him.
It dropped the basket on his plate, which startled Lilly and caused her to cry. Severus, also standing by now, noticed a small card attached to the side of the basket. He turned it over and asked, "Were you expecting a package?"
It being Ethan's birthday, a package was not all that unexpected. Even an ominous gift was not out of the realm of possibility, since Ethan admittedly had a lot of enemies.
He put one hand on top of Lilly's hair in a distracted attempt to soothe her and looked at the tag. It said nothing more than You're welcome. He and Severus exchanged looks, and then Ethan hesitantly lifted the lid to the basket, where he found Hattie Harsnip's severed head.
Strange Rumor
Author: Jane Linton
Date: 05-15-15 04:50
The last class of the term was Potions. It was Jane's least favorite class at school and most of the times she would feel moody all the way to the dungeons.
But today her anxious feelings towards Potions had vanished as the group of second years Huffelpuff and Ravenclaw entered the classroom. There has been a strange rumor that a head, a human head, was sent to Professor Somerset during lunch time. Jane had been at the dormitories with Nala, packing their trunks to go home, but it seemed like some of the other students had witnessed the scene.
"It was inside a box," Abernathy Jones, told Jane and Nala.
"Have you seen it?" Jane asked, feeling nausea when thinking about a human head on a table. She was glad she hasn't been there or maybe she wouldn't be able to keep her lunch on her stomach.
"Well no…just the box."
"Then how do you know there was a head inside?"
"Brom told me that an older student closer to the High Table saw it. "
It seemed like no one had seen the head itself and some hadn't even set their eyes on the box, since Professor Somerset made it disappear with his wand and walked away from the Great Hall followed by Professor Snape in a very discrete way. But the rumors had spread very fast.
"It wasn't a head," an older Slytherin student told the group as he was on his way to his house's common room. "It was a heart. It was still warm and beating…" Jane got pale and the older boy noticed her panic. He grinned and called all of them stupid for believing in such stupid macabre rumors like cut out heads and other human organs.
"It's not a lie. I saw the box" Abernathy swore when Nala suggested maybe they were indeed being silly for believing in this story.
They entered the classroom and moved to their respective working tables. No one seemed particularly interested in starting to take their things out of their bags and start the class. All they could talk about was if there has been or not a human head at the Great Hall today. Someone claimed the box was meant to the Headmistress and not to Professor Somerset, while others thought the head was false and it was all just a prank. One or two declared they didn't want to have any more classes with the DADA teacher, that he was a dangerous man.
Finally Professor Weasley entered the classroom and she demanded order. The noise died, and everyone was in silence, waiting for an explanation on the mysterious head. But the Potions teacher didn't make a single comment on the matter and she started the classroom as if it was a normal day. That made Jane and many of the others believe that the head story had just been a false rumor, and nothing macabre had happened today at the Great Hall. She sighed with relief, for the first time feeling tranquil in a Potions'class.
Shocking End to Winter Term
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 05-15-15 07:43
A small group gathered in Professor McGonagall's office, among then Professors Snape and Somerset, and aurors Geoffrey Blackwell and Jaiden Peters. The birthday basket recently delivered to Ethan was on a table and charmed with an impervious spell so that the bottom didn't drip blood everywhere.
Minerva's lips were pulled into a thin line. She had not looked into the basket herself, but she knew from the description Ethan and Severus gave that the head was that of a teenage boy––the former Hogwarts student Penn Ellison, who really was the wanted witch Hattie Harsnip.
To Minerva's knowledge, none of the students had seen what was inside the basket, though by now rumors were surely running rampant. Minerva had already set Argus Filch on the task of cleaning up the blood stains scattered around the Great Hall.
The aurors had many questions for Ethan, such as who might have sent him Hattie's head and who would have known it was his birthday. Ethan somewhat doubted the gift had come from Meadow O'Guinn and Nero Noir. He had witnessed Meadow and Hattie bickering during his captivity, but even if Meadow had offed Hattie, he couldn't see her sending him the severed head. His adoptive father would know his birthday, of course, but why would Dorian Somerset ever send him a gift, even one as horrible as Hattie's head?
Ethan had too many questions himself and no answers. For her part, Minerva wondered what she could do to stop such gifts from entering Hogwarts at all. Was it time to start screening all owl post again? Would it be best to set some sort of security spell that prevented certain types of mail from crossing onto the grounds?
"Do you recognize the handwriting on the card?" asked Geoffrey.
"It's not my father's," Ethan said.
"Looks a bit feminine, doesn't it?" asked Jaiden.
"Fairchild's?" Severus questioned.
Minerva immediately went to a filing cabinet to see if she had any of Adriana's parchmentwork on hand. Perhaps they could make a comparison and at least solve one part of the riddle. After some rifling, Minerva found a grade report from a few years ago and handed it over to Jaiden, who studied Adriana's quillmanship carefully.
"Could very well be," she said at last. "Mind if I take this?"
"Not at all," Minerva said.
"I think we've got everything we need for the moment," Jaiden went on, turning to Ethan. "If we have more questions, we'll contact you." She indicated to Geoffrey, who used his wand to levitate the basket off the table.
Minerva saw the aurors to the door of her office, and Severus walked them to the castle gates. She turned to Ethan, who wondered aloud, "Is it wrong that I have a small sense of relief that she can longer cause me any trouble?"
Minerva didn't answer his question and instead asked, "Are you all right?"
"As well as can be expected."
"Go check on Lilly."
Ethan nodded his head and headed out the office door, for the daycare where Lilly had been taken following the special delivery in the Great Hall. Minerva shut the door behind him and stared at the space where the basket had just been. This was not at all how she pictured Winter term ending at Hogwarts.
Siblings
Author: Calliope Torres
Date: 05-15-15 14:10
"Calliope..."
I sighed and pushed a hand through my hair, before turning to face my brother Lev, who was currently coming down the stairs from the Great Hall.
"What's up Lev?" Though, I had a feeling I already knew he was going to yell at me for not wanting to come home for Easter. We'd just seen our parents for the Easter Egg Hunt, and at other events earlier this term. I wasn't entirely sure why I'd made the decisions to stay at Hogwarts for Easter, but the decision was made.
"Are you seriously not going home for Easter?"
Did he really have to ask that question after the Howler that had come from our mother yesterday morning? A howler in English was one thing, but a Howler in Spanish is a completely different experience and unfortunately my classmates got to experience that yesterday morning during breakfast.
"I'm seriously not going home for Easter. It will only be you on the train when it pulls into Kings Cross, and I know Mom will still be mad at me, but I don't care. I will see her when we go home after the end of next term."
Lev kinda stared at me like I'd suddenly sprouted a second head and started speaking in tongues. "Be prepared to see a few more howlers then, because you know mom is going to lose her bloody mind when you don't get off that train."
I nodded and shifted my bag on my shoulder, "I know but I just need this time. She'll understand eventually, I know she will. I've written a letter to her, that I intend on mailing today, and hopefully that will stave off anymore howlers."
"Good luck. Anyway, I gotta finish packing. I'll see you at dinner later."
That said and done, I watched Lev head to his house, and I headed out to the owlry so I could ultimately send my letter to my parents. Hopefully they will understand the reasons why I'd chosen to remain at school for the break.
Going Away Drinks
Author: Eoghan
Date: 05-15-15 19:55
Jermaine Radley lifts his stein. "Cheers."
Eoghan lifts his own mug in reply. "Cheers. May you be happy with wherever life takes you."
Sitting in the booth beside Radley, Lucy Hewitt eyes him over her scotch on the rocks. "You'll be back, you know."
"I keep telling you I won't, Lucy. I'm done with it."
"One bad incident and you turn to mush. Next you'll be growing out your hair, putting flowers in your hair, and proclaiming we should all chill, find peace and love," she snipes with a roll of her eyes.
"Uncalled for," Eoghan states, his jaw tightening into a clench. "You're just taking the piss, Lucy, because you've been partnered with someone you don't care for."
"Could have been worse, could have been you."
Radley lifts a hand. "Don't be an arse, Lucy. Please? I wanted this to be a happy occasion."
"You leaving is cause for me to be happy?"
Eoghan interjects, "Why shouldn't it be? What's got your knickers in a twist that Jermaine's moving on?"
Lucy downs her scotch and motions for another. "You wouldn't understand. Neither of you."
"Not even going to try. So typical, Luce. Everything your way, your schedule, no one else can be happier than you. Well, just bugger off then. Eoghan and I don't need you to celebrate my ending one job and starting another." Radley cuts his eyes back to Eoghan. "See what I've had to work with before doing desk work?"
"Preaching to the choir, mate," Eoghan replies, lifing this mug to his lips.
Lucy, her new scotch on the rocks already at the table, picks it up, downs it in a single gulp, then flounces up. She flashes an overly bright, extremely fake smile. "Exceedingly chuffed for your new career and life, Jermaine. Tatty bye."
The two men exchange faux put upon, hurt expressions, both used to Hewitt's ways, as she sashays out of the pub. Only after she's gone does Radley sigh into his stein, "Always ruins everything, that one. I still can't believe you two dated for six months."
Eoghan, in the act of raising his mug to drain its contents, gives a shake of his head. "Still can't believe it myself, mate."