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Lunch Conversation
Author: Zabrynna
Date: 11-30-15 19:49
Pippa stirs honey into her tea. "I'm done. Done, I tell you!"
Zabrynna scrutinizes the chicken she'd gotten, thinking now she should have gone with a salad. "You've been saying that for weeks now but keep going out with him."
Sighing, Pippa puts her head on the table. She slightly lifts her head then lets it drop again. "I know. I'm bloody stupid that way."
She makes as if to lift and drop her head again only to sit up when Zabrynna says, "If you keep doing that you'll end up with a concussion and miss your exam."
"He's not worth it. I really am done."
Zabrynna gives her a look before finally taking a bite of the chicken. Pippa sips her tea then stirs a dollop more honey. "How's the boy," she asks simply to change the subject.
"Rand is doing well. He's made more friends. Good grades. No complaints from his professors, or so Declan says. He was so cute Saturday night. I told you instead of a regular feast Hogwarts did a carnival?"
"You mentioned something about it when you said you'd only be able to come to the party for a short time."
Zabrynna nods once. "Declan and I both had shifts at two of the booths and as a staff member he needed to be there for the bulk of the evening if possible. Rand wasn't familiar with fancy dress at Halloween, or for anything really."
"Did he not do a costume then?"
"He gave it thought and talked with friends and decided to dress. He decided on dressing as a porlock. All shaggy and so cute I couldn't even tell him just how adorable."
"Still nothing from his mum?"
"Not a word. Declan says he's fairly sure Rand has written her a few times but has never outright said so."
"Poor poppet."
"Rand brings out the mothering instinct in me. I was worried I didn't have one, what with my own mum able to shut hers off at will, or perhaps she faked it all those years. Between Rand and being an aunt now, I'm having an urge to have one of my own."
"Does Declan know this?"
"No, and probably won't for awhile yet."
Pippa gives an indelicate snort before asking, "You mean being around friends' children, like Anne's, hasn't made you want one?"
"No, not really. What about you?"
"At times but I'm not putting the cart before the horse. I want to be in a healthy, committed relationship first and as the one I've been in is not healthy nor committed on his part, I need to keep looking for the right man."
The two talk about relationships and children a few minutes more before Pippa shifts to having Zabrynna quiz her for an exam this afternoon until time for each to get to a class.
Blue
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 12-02-15 18:25
Hermione was just about to go on lunch break when a pair of mediwizards rolling a gurney down the hall intercepted her. The patient was awake and alert and did not appear to be injured at first glance. The only out of the ordinary thing about her was the fact that her skin looked blue.
"Ms. Shelmadine says she was trying to repaint her bedroom when her wand backfired and turned her all blue," said one of the mediwizards. He was a tall wizard a few years older than Hermione, with sandy blond hair and brown eyes.
Hermione looked at that patient, whose clothes did not appear to be splattered with paint. The witch, who was probably in her early forties but seemed to think she was younger, wore old jeans and a sweatshirt with the neck cut wide so that it hung off one shoulder. Although worn, the clothes were otherwise unmarred.
As far as Hermione could tell, only the witch's face and hands were blue. The discoloration appeared to spread evenly across her skin, contrary to what it would look like if it had actually been splattered with blue paint. Hermione didn't want to accuse Ms. Shelmadine of fibbing just yet, since wand backfires did cause odd effects sometimes, but her gut told her the witch wasn't being truthful.
The mediwizards pushed the gurney into an exam room and helped Ms. Shelmadine into a bed. In addition to the blue skin coloring, the patient appeared to be suffering from extreme fatigue. She sighed dramatically and put the back of her hand against her forehead. "Oh, I feel just terrible," she said. "I think I'm really sick. I'm probably dying!"
Hermione used good bedside manner and said, "We're going to do a thorough check to determine what is wrong and we will do our very best to reverse the effects of your wand backfiring. Did you bring it with you?"
"It's over there, in my bag," Ms. Shelmadine said, waving a hand in the general direction of a large hobo purse the mediwizards had left in a chair before leaving with the gurney.
Hermione retrieved the wand and looked it over. A cursory glance suggested there was nothing the matter with it. She didn't see any noticeable cracks or flaking, and a closer inspection didn't show any hairline fractures either.
"I'll send this to the lab for a check," she announced, just in case she had missed something, though she was certain she hadn't.
She called for a nurse, who whisked the wand away, and then Hermione began checking Ms. Shelmadine's vitals. As suspected, everything appeared normal. Hermione went through every applicable procedure and grew even more certain that Ms. Shelmadine was faking her illness. But why? Was she a hypochondriac? Was she doing it to get attention?
The wand results confirmed Hermione's hunch. The tests proved nothing out of the ordinary in terms of why it would backfire, but one crucial piece of evidence did emerge. The last spell cast was a human transfiguration spell to change one's skin to blue.
With that question answered, Hermione called for a psych evaluation and then finally went to lunch.
(Azaelia) Reunited
Author: Isolde
Date: 12-03-15 17:57
Azaelia sat at the High Table in the Great Hall next to her husband and absentmindedly stirred her potato leek soup. She had a lot on her mind lately, and while most of her thoughts were happy, a few kept her preoccupied.
She often thought about the day Robert had returned after disappearing from the Ministry of Magic on the day the Death Eaters attacked. He'd arrived at Hogwarts in the afternoon and sought out his wife with a terrifying tale of kidnapping and torture, after which he had been set free in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar place. Somehow, he'd found his way home again.
Robert had looked a little worse for wear but not as bad as Azaelia imagined a torture victim might look. She hadn't questioned his physical appearance, though, and instead had felt relieved that he had returned to her at all. After a trip to St. Mungo's for a checkup and a meeting with aurors to discuss everything that had happened since his disappearance, Robert moved back in with Azaelia at her insistence.
And everything had been wonderful ever since… except for the nagging feeling that there was something a little bit off about Robert. Azaelia couldn't tell what it might be, but somehow he seemed different. She told herself it was because of the experience of being held against his will and tortured, but she wasn't sure that was the only reason for his subtle change.
Robert had told aurors very little about what he'd gone through while missing, and checks at St. Mungo's and at the Ministry showed that Robert really didn't remember much about his time in captivity. He hadn't told her much either, but Azaelia suspected he did have something he could share with her, when he was ready.
She didn't know that he had first gone to play in a Craster Rovers match before reuniting with her, but she did know that he had played in subsequent matches since that first one. She had even gone to the one on the 26th of September, which had actually ended in a tie. The Rovers lost the two matches after that, and the last one quite badly, but had made up for the fact by winning the most recent match against Wooler.
"Knut for your thoughts?" Robert asked.
Azaelia stopped stirring her soup and looked over at him. "Hmm? Oh." She smiled and said, "I'm just thinking about how lucky it is we have a second chance together."
Robert returned her smile and said, "Third chance, really, if you think about it."
"Yes, I guess you're right." She leaned her head onto his shoulder and sighed contentedly. "Let's never fight again, all right?"
"All right," Robert agreed. "No more arguments."
Azaelia raised her head from his shoulder, offered him another smile, and then took a sip of the still hot potato leek soup.
Close-Minded
Author: Sage Porter
Date: 12-03-15 18:52
Lohengrin thrusts an envelope at Sage insisting, "Just give it a chance."
"I have a job, Da. A job I rather like. I also have my graduate studies, which include a massive research paper I need to finish writing as it's due by Friday."
"Pish posh. That job is nothing but dealing with Muggle items. As for your graduate studies, you're twenty-four now, son. Time to stop playing around. Buckle down with a real job. When I was your age "
"I know. I know. You were a rising star with your first restaurant."
"I don't appreciate your tone, Sage."
"And I don't appreciate your continual efforts to control my life, Da. As you pointed out, I am twenty-four. I live on my own without your assistance. I have a good job that I love every bit as much as you love what you do. My studies can be difficult and stressful but will be worth it when I'm done."
"I wouldn't feel the need to make efforts in guiding you if you made better life choices."
"You mean if I made the choices you want me to make."
"I have given you excellent direction and advice. You're simply so obstinate that you'd prefer to take a route you know I find beneath us not to mention dating that girl when Birdie and I have presented to you several wonderful young women."
"That girl has a name and I'm bloody tired of you acting as if she doesn't. I love Georgia, Da, and hope we are together for a long time. As to the route I've taken, I'm no different from you in that I've followed what I have a keen interest in. I would think you'd be happy for me that I've got someone I love in my life and have a job I enjoy."
Lohengrin heaves a massive sigh, dropping the envelope onto a nearby table. "I'm finding this conversation tediously exasperating. At least look at the information," he says with a gesture to the envelope. "Don't be so close-minded."
With that Lohengrin leaves, saying nothing more, not even a goodbye. Sage also says nothing more as he tries to wrap around his thoughts that Lohengrin doesn't see himself as close-minded in the slightest but considers Sage to be.
Time with Essie
Author: Jordan Thompson
Date: 12-04-15 17:58
"I'm starving, but I don't feel like dealing with the great hall for lunch," Jordan said as she shouldered her messenger bag and looked over at Jacob and Essie who were also getting their things together to leave their DADA class, the only one they had together on Wednesdays.
"I might grab a sandwich and a fairy cake from the Common Commons while I work on the finishing touches on my Herbology essay due today," Essie said as they headed toward the door, bidding Professor Somerset farewell with a wave.
"I am heading to the great hall, I'll see you in Herbology Essie," Jacob said and the girls simply rolled their eyes. Jacob was a growing boy and ate like his stomach was a bottomless pit and the girls had absolutely no idea where all that food went.
"Later," Essie said and hooked an arm in one of Jordan's as the girls headed toward the Common Commons.
"It sucks that we got sorted into different houses, or we'd be roomies. Though, I actually like my roommates, a lot more than I thought I would," Essie said, letting her head rest on Jordan's shoulder.
"I know it, my roommates are actually kinda cool too and I've made a few friends in my house which is good," Jordan said, and they soon pushed into the Common Common room and headed over to grab something small to eat and head to one of the tables.
"Alright, herbology essay for me. History of Magic homework for you," Essie said once they got settled.
Very little conversation happened between the two girls while they worked, however they shared most of the food between them. Jordan briefly had the thought of skipping out on History of Magic, but she really didn't want to lose points for her house. She'd already seen the drastic drop in points from Gryffindor's tube the other day at breakfast and didn't want Hufflepuff's to drop any lower.
Jordan and Essie worked for a good portion of the hour they had between classes, before spending the last fifteen to twenty minutes playing a game of Wizarding chess until it was time for them to head to class.
Kaycee - Embarrassed
Author: Lee Sickleby
Date: 12-04-15 18:05
Kaycee walked swiftly out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and silently wished that they had already started learning defensive spells. Today's lecture had been a continuation of Monday's. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw first years had learned all about the various divisions in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The lecture hadn't exactly been boring, but Kaycee's yearning for something more stemmed from the awful thing that happened on Halloween night.
She'd gone to the carnival on her own. All had been well until two older boys frightened her so badly that she'd suffered a mortifying accident. What's worse was that Kaycee had been dressed as a pink, fuzzy pygmy puff. One might think the costume would shield her embarrassment, but it didn't. The evidence ran down the leg of her tights and into her pink slippers.
It was the worst thing that could happen in such a public place and almost had her writing home to her aunt and uncle, begging them to let her resume homeschooling. She'd spent the night crying herself to sleep and stayed within the curtains of her four-poster bed all of Sunday. She would have skipped her classes on Monday, if not for the fear of getting in trouble with all of her teachers.
It turned out that leaving her dorm room was a step in the right direction. While she still felt immensely embarrassed, especially when she noticed people staring and whispering to one another in her presence, Kaycee no longer felt sad. Instead, she felt like standing up for herself. She wanted to show those boys that she could be just as scary, and maybe they'd do more than just urinate on themselves when she gave them a taste of their own medicine.
Kaycee didn't know what exactly she would do, or if she would actually do anything at all. She was the sort to avoid trouble if at all possible, probably because of her strict upbringing, and she didn't want to suffer the consequences any professor might dole out to her if she did break the school rules somehow. She'd heard that the two Gryffindor boys had lost mega points for what they'd done to her, which she had to admit was slightly gratifying.
Kaycee went straight to her dorm room to swap out the books from her morning classes for those she would need in the afternoon and then set out for the Great Hall. She sat down in an isolated part of the Hufflepuff table and helped herself to a bowl of macaroni and cheese topped with bread crumbs. Before taking the first bite, Kaycee glanced up at the four House hourglasses and felt the corners of her mouth tug up into a small smile. At that very moment, Gryffindor was dead last in the running for the House Cup.
Lunch Hour
Author: Rylee
Date: 12-04-15 18:18
"Pass the crisps please," Raz inquired as he barely looked up from his parchment for Ancient Runes.
Rylee passed him the bowl of crisps and he took them blindly. She shook her head, "You know, you can look up from that parchment every now and then Raz, I mean you don't have to spend all of lunch studying."
Raz grinned and shook his head, looking up from the parchment, "Sorry, was going over the last set of info that we learned just in case there is a quiz."
"I seriously think my parents are glad your study habits have rubbed off on me. My marks have improved greatly, and I'm glad that she doesn't stress as much about that. I also think she's glad I'm not playing Quidditch this year."
"Why do you say that?"
"There was almost telltale relief in the owl I got from her after I sent the one that told her I didn't make the team. Dad, on the other hand, disappointed, not that he actually bothered to come to any of the matches."
Raz chuckled and shook his head, "Your mum is happy no matter what you do Rylee, you are her youngest and I know that she'll be proud of you no matter what. Also, be glad that you still have them."
Rylee offered him a light smile, "I know and it sucks that you don't have yours any more, but I know my mum has become like family and my sisters absolutely adore spending time with you and Etana."
No sooner has she said Etana's name that the second year and her best friend Caroline joined them at the Slytherin table, tomorrow Raz and Rylee would be eating at the Ravenclaw table.
"You know, you've changed a lot from when you were a first year Rylee.." Etana said, turning to face the older girl.
"I know, so I'm guessing you've heard the stories about what a spoiled little brat I was my first year here," she said, unsurprised by the nod that her statement received.
"Well, I've grown up and become quite a bit less petty and materialistic. Well, slightly less materialistic, I still adore going shopping and indulging in the latest trends," Rylee said with an impish grin.
They conversation turned to another topic within a few minutes, and the rest of their lunch hour passed quickly. Rylee and Raz heading to Ancient Runes, Etana and Caroline heading to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
Interrupted Research (Marjani)
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 12-05-15 19:57
Marjani plucks a book from a shelf then moves on to the next title on her list. After locating all five books she's seeking she returns to the table where she's been working. Moving a few other books to a cart for reshelving Marjani sits, taking the top book from her new stack, and flipping it open. She positions the book where she can skim it for information while taking notes.
She's partway through the second of the five books when a backpack is dropped on the other side of the table and a chair pulled out. Looking up for a half second Marjani returns to her work only to look up again. A familiar head is bent over the backpack as its owner roots around in it.
"Hi, Daniel."
Daniel Gelson pulls back from the backpack and sits up straight. "Marjani. Hi. Didn't notice it was you sitting here."
His tone is on the cool side and he grabs his pack as if to get up and leave.
"Stay."
"What?"
"You're thinking of going to another table. There's no reason to do that."
He unblinkingly stares at her for a few seconds as if to deny he was going to get up. Marjani refrains from rolling her eyes as she says, "I get that you're angry but I'm not sure why you've taken it out on Jill and some of us others."
"Jill ruined my relationship with Iris."
"No, Iris ruined the relationship. All Jill did was clue you in on what Iris was about."
"She didn't have to say anything. She could have left us be."
"If Jill were dating someone you knew for a fact was only with her in hopes of getting some of that Wenlock fortune, you would have kept quiet." Her voice drips with sarcasms and skepticism.
"No, but that's different."
"Is it? How?"
"I LOVE Iris. We were looking for a place together and I already had a ring, waiting for a good time to propose."
"You still could have. You could have ignored what Jill, and Olive, told you they overheard. You could ignored the advice you asked the rest of us gave when asked."
"It wasn't that simple."
"Wasn't it?"
Daniel makes a sound in the back of his throat that could be a growl of frustration or one of anger. Or both.
Marjani stands, reaches across the table to put a hand on his. "You aren't really angry with any us of, not even Jill or Olive."
"Is that so? Nice of you to tell me how I feel." Daniel pushes Marjani's hand away, grab up his bag as he stands. "I think I'll get some dinner. Want to tell me what I'm hungry for or am I allowed to decide that for myself?"
He jerks his bag to his shoulder, hastily walking away. Marjani sadly sags back into her chair. No longer interested in getting this work done but not really having much choice, she returns to going through the books and taking notes but it's slow going as her focus is now definitely elsewhere.