|
|
(Adriana) Biding Her Time
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 12-06-15 14:06
Adriana sat at her desk and stared off into space. She had a lot on her mind, from the potion brewing downstairs in the crypt, to the updates she regularly received from her contacts out in the world. Nowadays she had few friends left at the Ministry of Magic, with those remaining at risk of getting discovered each and every day. She had not heard that officials at the Ministry were conducting any kind of checks on their employees, but she wondered if and when they might happen.
Her dream was to increase her ranks at the Ministry once more, but she knew that she would have to bide her time––that, or conduct a sudden overthrow, which would more than likely fail. The Ministry was on edge after the attack, and though she still had a strong following, there were more members of law enforcement than there were Death Eaters. There were also plenty of other Ministry workers who would readily fight if it came down to it again.
As it happened, she had a more important project to work on at the moment than another Ministry attack. Only when it was successfully completed would she move on to other things, unless He decided differently.
Now that Mimsy had sorted out his predicament at Hogwarts, he sent her notes and photographs whenever he could. There were several photos of known members of the Order of the Phoenix congregating or huddling in dark corners to talk. Sometimes Mimsy reported on what they discussed, othertimes his updates consisted solely of images and unfocused ones at that. Unfortunately, he mostly provided her with information commonly known. Maybe the Order of the Phoenix hadn't expanded its ranks in the years that had passed since Voldemort's death. Maybe they only ever had a vague goal of defeating all evil.
The one tidbit Adriana did find somewhat interesting was that concerning Ethan Somerset. It would seem that something happened recently to cause him severe consternation. He reportedly suffered from headaches and hallucinations, and he solicited illegal painkillers to make it all go away. Even before Adriana learned Ethan's history, she'd felt there was something about him that made them similar.
She wanted to know what was happening to him now, and why. Did it have anything to do with Voldemort, or with herself without her knowingly having done something to trigger it, or was it something else entirely? Whatever was happening to Ethan, Adriana felt it was worth investigating. She very much looked forward to Mimsy's next update.
Helping Amalia
Author: Christopher Chant
Date: 12-07-15 18:53
Standing just on the other side of the main gates leading onto the estate that makes up the St. Emrys school grounds Christopher reaches out to tuck an end of Catriona's scarf into her coat. "Wyrding Way or something else?"
"Wyrding Way is " whatever Cat was going to say dies on her lips as an angry male voice startles them both.
"You were flirting. Don't deny it!"
"I was not. I was only being friendly to a classmate. Nothing more."
The female's reply is followed by what sounds to Christopher like a smack. As this is accompanied by a female sounding cry of pain, he's fairly certain he's correct in his presumption about the smack. He turns toward where he voices and another hitting noise, Cat right beside him. "That girl's voice is familiar."
He thinks about that a second, searching in the darkness for where exactly the male and female are. "Yeah. Maybe Amalia Ricchetti."
As Amalia has been seeing someone for awhile now that Christopher, Cat, and a number of friends are convinced is abusing her though she has denied it, the woman could well be Amalia and her boyfriend.
Pegging exactly where the couple in question are, Christopher increases his pace, Cat trotting quickly along to keep up. "HEY!" he shouts, realizing that one person is bent over, almost to the ground.
The other has a fist raised. Ignoring the shout the man, Harvey Bloxham if it's Amalia and her boyfriend, brings his fist down, driving the other person all the way to the ground.
Christopher reaches them as the man is swinging a foot to kick the woman. "HEY!" he shouts again, physically shoving the man back.
"Stay out of this," the other man spits, returning Christopher's shove.
"You need to calm down," Christopher replies, now speaking in as level and even a tone as he can muster.
"Don't fucking tell me what to do," he growls. Christopher sees that it is definitely Harvey Bloxham.
"Step back, Harvey," he firmly says, still trying to keep an even, rational tone.
Just behind him Cat is kneeling beside Amalia, determine that an emergency visit to St. Mungo's is in order. "Amalia needs a healer," she says, Christopher glancing around at the two women as Harvey scoffs.
"She's faking." Recognizing Cat and Christopher he states, "You know Amalia's something of a drama queen." To Amalia he barks, "Get up. You're making a fool of both of us."
Cat is shaking her head. "She's hurt, Harvey. I'm going to take her to St. Mungo's."
"The only place Amalia is going is home with me. You two scurry along and mind your own business."
Harvey makes to push past Christopher but Christopher won't let him. This earns him a harder shove from Harvey. "Get the fuck off me, Chant."
"You back up, Harvey. Cat and I are taking Amalia to St. Mungo's."
Next thing Christopher knows his stomach is being forcefully smashed by Harvey's fist, driving the breath from him. As he straightens he sees Harvey is pulling out his wand. Christopher grabs for his, Cat sharply intaking a breath and going for her own wand.
"Get Amalia out of her, Cat," he says as hastily as he can for someone who's still not fully caught his breath from that sucker punch.
"Don't you move, Catriona!" Harvey insists, waving his wand around.
She is already in the process of a side-along when Christopher urges, "GO!"
The distinctive pop of an apparition hangs in the air. Christopher expects Harvey to relax somewhat now that Amalia, and Cat, are gone. Instead, the other man's face goes deeply red. He aims his wand at Christopher who instinctively throws up a shield. Harvey curses when his effort to harm Christopher bounces harmlessly off the shield. Christopher takes that half second to get off a spell himself, thinking to disarm Harvey then immobilize him.
Harvey's wand goes flying from his hand with Christopher's, "Expelliarmus!" He lunges for it only to lose his balance and fall. His forehead cracks against the pavement, his body going completely still and limp.
Christopher rushes over, falling to his knees beside Harvey, checking that he's all right.
Only Harvey isn't all right.
He's dead.
Change of Venue
Author: Illyria
Date: 12-07-15 19:02
Illyria frowned up at the overcast sky and wondered if she should move the second year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff class to the classroom. Those that had already arrived for class were gathered up on the observation deck of the Astronomy Tower, layered in cloaks and jackets to keep warm.
Tonight's syllabus called for observations of and discussions on Andromeda, Fornax and Pisces, but few stars speckled the night sky because of the dense cloud cover. Illyria could maybe point out a piece of constellation here and there, but her students would be unable to see them in their entirety, if at all. It was disappointing, to say the least.
She eventually resigned herself to the fact that best laid plans often went awry and announced to her second years that class would take place downstairs. Some of them looked relieved to be out of the cold. Others didn't seem to have an opinion one way or another. They filed down the stairs and entered the warmer though not very warm Astronomy classroom.
Illyria immediately cast a charm on the enchanted ceiling so that the three constellations up for discussion were in full view. Then, she allowed the students a few minutes time to get settled. She removed her own cloak, a midnight blue one with a wool lining for warmth, and draped it over the back of her desk chair.
"All right, let's begin. This," she said, pointing her wand at the ceiling and zooming in on the first constellation she wished to discuss, "is Andromeda. Andromeda is one of the original 48 constellations listed by the ancient astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of our constellations today. Who can remind me how many modern constellations are in existence?"
Rex Applewhite raised his hand and answered, "88."
"Take one point for Hufflepuff," Illyria said with a smile. "Andromeda is named after a character from Greek myth and is one of the largest constellations. It covers an area larger than the full moon, is more than half the size of the largest constellation, and is more than ten times bigger than the smallest constellation. Who can tell me what the largest and smallest constellations are?"
Cornington Marchbanks raised his hand tentatively and said, "The largest one is Hydra, and the smallest is…" He thought for a moment and then uncertainly said, "Crux?"
"Correct. Two points to Gryffindor. The brightest star in Andromeda is Alpha Andromedae, which is a binary star. Other notable stars in the constellation are Beta Andromedae, which is a red giant, and Gamma Andromedae, another binary star."
She went on to describe Andromeda in Chinese and Hindu astronomy and then discussed some of the deep-sky objects found within Andromeda's borders, such as the Andromeda Galaxy and the Blue Sowball Nebula. She also mentioned the Andromedids meteor shower, which would peak later that month.
When she said everything there was to say about Andromeda and there were no questions on the subject, she moved on to the next constellation on the agenda, Fornax.
Megara Is Not A Morning Person
Author: Errol
Date: 12-08-15 19:47
Megara says from her face down on the table position, "I can't do this today."
"What you get for staying out late on a school night."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"You going to skip?"
"Maybe. I don't know."
"Due for a pop quiz," Errol reminds."
"Bastard with his bloody surprise exams. We're adults. Trust us to keep up with the work." Megara blindly gropes for her ginormous cup of black coffee.
"You haven't read today's material, have you?" Errol nudges the coffee cup in the direction of her hand.
"Oh, shut up."
"Was the date at least worth it?"
"He's no Deak but I wouldn't turn him down if he asks me out again."
"For someone who dated Deak for awhile then mutually agreed with him you're better as just friends, you certainly have a tendency to compare others to him."
"Your point?" Cup firmly in hand, Megara manages to prop her head up long enough to take a long drink, grimacing when she burns her mouth but continues drinking to the point of nearly slurping the hot brew.
Whatever sarcastic comment Errol had thought to make is lost when Dayna Upton comes rushing over, nearly knocking into the table. "Did you hear?"
"Go away, Dayna."
Megara pries open an eye to peer at the new arrival then promptly shuts it again, taking another long drink of her coffee.
"You haven't heard then," Dayna says rather than walking away as requested.
"Heard what?"
"Russell Gresham committed suicide."
"Russell Gresham wouldn't do that, not when he's so sure he can buy his way out of prison early."
"Seriously, Errol. He did. Hanged himself in his cell sometime during the night."
"It's still during the night over there."
"I know, so it can't have happened all that long ago."
Errol shrugs. "I wish I could say it's horrible news but he was not a nice man." He adds, "I guess if it's true I'll hear soon enough from Uncle Ross."
Megara, more alert at this news, checks the level of her coffee in the cup but says nothing.
Dayna looks at Errol as if unsure of what else to say. He stares at her, refusing to be the one to say something more. After several long seconds she gives her own little shrug. "Okay. Well. I just wanted to be sure you knew. Bye."
Errol mumbles a, "Bye," in reply. No sooner has she gotten out of earshot then Megara says, "Thank Merlin. I thought she'd never leave." She gives Errol as direct a gaze as she's capable of at the moment. "More caffeine. You get."
He frowns at her but gets up, thinking as long as he's going through the line again he'll get another breakfast sandwich or a Danish, wondering as he walks if the news is true and if it is, why would Russel Gresham kill himself before knowing if his efforts to overturn his conviction would have worked or not.
End of the Week Down Time
Author: Rylee
Date: 12-09-15 17:42
"Have you started your holiday shopping yet?" Rylee asked as she hooked an arm through one of Raz's as she met him at the base of the staircase leading up to the Great Hall. He was chilled from coming in from the barn after Care of Magical Creatures and they were going to spend some time playing wizarding chess in the Common Commons and discussing some holiday plans - most of which included attempts to keep Rylee from having to go to her father's house and attempting to be nice to her step-mother and step-siblings.
"Not yet, though I have a feeling I know already what two of Etana's Hanukkah gifts will be and I'll probably pick them up on the next Hogsmeade trip," Raz said, shifting his messenger bag to the opposite shoulder.
"Good, I've already got a few ideas for you and Etana both for Hanukkah this year as well as something small to open on Christmas Day with the rest of the family," Rylee grinned as she and Raz headed toward the Common Commons.
"I"m going to run to my room first, drop things off and we can play for a little while before I debate on if I'm going to start on my History of Magic essay, or if I'm going to put it off until tomorrow," Raz broke off before they reached the doors to the common commons.
"Alright, I'll see if there's a wizarding chessboard open and grab us something to snack on," Rylee said with a grin as she headed into the Common Commons while Raz headed to his room.
Heading back to the common commons he made a detour to the owlry where he sent off a couple of letters that he'd forgotten to mail earlier. Soon enough, though he headed back to the Common Commons where he would spend some time relaxing before probably buckling down and getting his homework done before the day was even over.
Friday Evening with the Torres'
Author: Calliope Torres
Date: 12-09-15 18:05
"Esta es la carta de mamá. Ella quiere saber lo que queremos para la Navidad, y tenemos que enviar por correo su antes de que finalice el mes."
Callie said as she dropped the second page of the letter that had come to her this morning at breakfast in front of her brother as she passed the Ravenclaw table on her way to the Gryffindor table to join her friends for dinner.
Lev groaned and reached for the letter, wondering why their mother hadn't sent the letter to him as well as Callie, rather than sending them combined in the one envelope. Though, chances are it was to ensure that the letter actually got opened and Lev actually got the message that was sent from their mother.
"Enviaré su este fin de semana, después de obtener mi tarea hecho," Lev shot at his sister's retreating form before stuffing the letter into his pocket. He had no idea at this point what to tell his mother that he wanted for Christmas, let alone if he was even going to participate in the Secret Santa if they did that this year - though chances are he would have little choice in participating because his little sister would sign him up for it anyway.
Lev pushed a hand through his dark hair as he turned his attention to his dinner. Already he was on his second plate of food and he was also had some notes from his History of Magic class open so that he could study them before he headed back to Ravenclaw to get started on the essay he needed to write as well as work on his timeline project. He was also not looking forward to getting Callie's list of things to get on the next Hogsmeade trip be cause he had a feeling there would be quite a few and it would more than likely result in him having to make a trip to the castle to drop them off before he went to enjoy the rest of his shopping day.
"Is your sister the reason you aren't looking forward to going into Hogsmeade on the next trip?"
Lev looked up at the classmate who had asked the question, "Yeah, because chances are I'll be doing her shopping first and that will take a couple of hours off my day before I can actually enjoy the trip. I can't wait until next year when she'll be able to do her own Hogsmeade shopping. Though at that point, there will be another Torres attending Hogwarts. My second sister, Calypso will be starting as a first year."
"Oh wow, so, how many brothers and sisters do you have?"
"Three sisters and one brother. Calliope, Calypso, Octavius and Zadie. Though it will be a while yet before Octavius and Zadie will be getting their letters to Hogwarts. Octavius is six and Zadie is two and a half."
The two boys talked at the Ravenclaw table while Callie dropped down at the Gryffindor table and within minutes was lost in conversation with a few friends about the upcoming holiday plans and a few other things that didn't even concern Lev at the moment.
Friday Night Excitement
Author: Araxie Loren
Date: 12-09-15 18:23
"Seriously, this plan to get all our homework done today to ensure that we can be lazy for the rest of the weekend is starting to sound horrible. Just sayin'," Nichole whispered as she looked over the table at Araxie who was currently filling out her fact sheet from Astronomy on the constellations that were discussed earlier this week.
"I know, but chances are I will probably spend most of the weekend sketching," Araxie said with a grin.
"Knowing you, more than likely," Nichole said shaking her head at her best friend knowing her quite well.
The pair worked in quiet contentment for a while. Before ultimately deciding that they had done enough work. Four subjects each, and ultimately things were tucked away and they were browsing the shelves in the library for guilty pleasure reads. Things that they could read between dealing with homework.
"Do you have any idea what you want to read?"
Nichole shook her head and she pushed a hand through her hair. "Absolutely none, but to be honest I'm starting to get kinda peckish."
"Same. Let's grab a couple of books and head back to our rooms, drop things off and meet for dinner?"
"Sounds like a plan."
Checked out, and bidding farewell to the librarian the two girls went their separate ways to their dorm rooms before meeting at the steps leading up to the Great Hall and heading in for dinner.