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Blackwaterfoot
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 01-31-16 10:30
Menelaus entered Blackfoote Harbour, a tiny wizarding pub in the mostly Muggle city of Blackwaterfoot on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. The pub was little larger than a single-room flat, with a short bar near the door behind which stood a grizzled-looking wizard with an eye-patch and wearing a long fishing coat. There were only two sets of tables in the pub, and the only loo available was an outhouse around the back of the small building. Besides the barman, only one other individual occupied the room.
Menelaus crossed over to him, pulled out the only other chair at the table, removed his cloak and draped it over the chair back, and then sat.
"Perhaps you didn't understand the urgency of my request to meet," Menelaus began.
The other wizard, who was tall and thin with a beak-like nose and faint lines on his otherwise clear skin, waved his hand dismissively.
"My schedule didn't allow a meeting until this afternoon," he said. He glanced up to signal the bartender, who came over with a whiskey glass and a bottle of Ogden's. He topped off the other wizard's glass before pouring whiskey into Menelaus' glass. Once finished, he returned to his place behind the counter.
The barman was deaf in one ear, but even with his ability to hear a little bit and the fact that the room was so tiny, any conversation could easily be overheard, he was not someone about whom his two guests worried. He was like-minded, which was why some wizards went out of their way to have clandestine meetings at his tiny pub.
"Well, out with it," the other man said to Menelaus. "What's so important we had to meet in Blackwaterfoot of all places?"
"My grandson shared a concerning bit of news with me over Christmas," Menelaus started, but he was cut off with a sarcastic snort before he could even continue.
"Let me guess! Quidditch will be cancelled next season."
Menelaus didn't bother to give the other man a retort. Instead, he pressed on with, "He told me when we had a moment alone that members of law enforcement interviewed him over the summer."
The other man still didn't look impressed. "Over the summer? And how is it you didn't find out about it till now?"
"He was advised not to speak about it to anyone by said law enforcement and his parents," Menelaus explained. "My do-good son never mentioned the event to me either." This was said with a look of annoyance.
"And?" the other wizard asked, still not sure what the point of their meeting was.
Menelaus leaned over the small, round table and said, "He was interviewed about the toad."
At that, the other man froze.
Menelaus went on, "They asked him where he got the toad, why he purchased that toad in particular and not another creature, and whether anyone told him to buy the toad."
"I imagine since you were not interviewed by law enforcement, your grandson didn't reveal your involvement," the other wizard finally said.
"Correct," Menelaus confirmed. "They did ask him if he knew anything extraordinary about the toad."
"So they know," the man murmured.
"It seems likely," Menelaus agreed. "My grandson didn't know, but if they're asking, then it seems they must have learned the truth."
"So we must reasonably believe that Mimsy has been compromised."
"You see the urgency now?" Menelaus couldn't help but state.
To his surprise and fortune, the other man didn't react. He was lost in thought for several long moments before he said, "Anything else I should know before I report your findings?"
Menelaus shook his head. "No. I told you everything."
"Good." The man drained his whiskey in one gulp, and then stood up abruptly, so that the legs of the chair scraped noisily on the floor. "I'll be in touch."
The man stopped by the bar to throw a few coins onto the counter, and then he went out the door and disapparated with a loud crack. Menelaus, meanwhile, remained seated and nursed his drink. He wasn't worried his connection to the toad would ever get found out, but he was curious to know what led law enforcement to come calling on Malden. His number one guess was his sister, who unintentionally always ruined his plans.
The barman came over to top off his glass. Menelaus let him, deciding he wanted nothing more in that moment than to sit and think in silence for as long as time allowed.
(Adriana) When Life Gives You Lemons…
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 01-31-16 16:56
Adriana listened to the news impassively. So, the Ministry of Magic had one-upped her at least as early as this past summer. Since that time, they had been using whatever knowledge they'd gained to their own advantage. Adriana couldn't think of very much she might have inadvertently revealed, but now every bit of intelligence she'd received over the past few months could no longer be trusted.
She sighed as if bored, waved her hand at the speaker, and sent him on his way with a curt, "Thank you."
Ivanova showed him off the property and then returned to find her mistress sitting pensively at her desk. "What shall we do now, my Lady?" she asked, from her position just within the doorway.
Adriana beckoned for Ivanova to come forward and take a seat.
"It's not confirmed," Adriana began, "but the implication is that it's known that Mimsy is an animagus. Not only that, but he's either being monitored while still in service to me––probably without his knowledge, though perhaps under some sort of plea deal with the law. If not that, then he's in custody and somebody else is posing as Mimsy."
Ivanova mulled over Adriana's words.
Adriana continued slowly, "If I had to make an educated guess, I would say the latter is more likely."
"Why do you say that, My Lady?"
"Because Mimsy didn't remember how to find the abbey when I summoned him after he first got back into contact with me," Adriana replied. She felt even more sure than ever that her hunch was right.
"He had a good excuse, all right," she went on, "but how much do you want to bet he had it all worked out so that I wouldn't be too suspicious?"
Ivanova nodded her head in agreement and understanding. "What will you do?" she asked. "Kill the imposter?"
"Absolutely," Adriana answered, "but not after I've had a little fun of my own."
She devised a plan to test the false Mimsy by asking when he last felt her summon him. Because he didn't have a real Dark Mark, only the illusion of one thanks to Polyjuice Potion, he wouldn't be able to give her the correct date. Rather than kill the fraud on the spot, she planned on using him the same way the Ministry of Magic thought they were using her. She would feed him false information to give to the authorities and presumably the Order of the Phoenix, for surely they were in the know about Mimsy.
"Two can play at this game," she said, grinning evilly.
She popped out of her chair suddenly and announced, "Well, I'm going to go check on my project downstairs and then we can see about contacting dear old 'Mimsy'."
Ivanova giggled and also got to her feet. The women left the chamber together, but they went separate ways at the stairs leading down to the crypt. Adriana went through the procedures of unlocking the door and disarming the many security spells in place, and then she descended into darkness with only the tip of her wand for light.
She lit the many candles in the cavernous chamber, which seemed to snuff out every time she went back upstairs. Extinguishing her wand, then, she went over to the work table where she kept her potion supplies and grabbed a flask. Her eyes searched the dark corners of the room and finally settled on a shadow huddled against the wall.
"There you are," she said, moving forward slowly because she didn't want to scare her guest. "It's time for another one of your treatments."
She stopped a few feet away from the huddled figure and knelt so that they were more or less eye to eye. The wraith, shrouded in black, looked faintly translucent. The only sound it made was a mournful moan barely louder than a whisper.
Adriana held out the flask and said, "You must drink. You need to gain back your strength…. Father."
Angry Bellatrix
Author: Lucius Malfoy
Date: 01-31-16 19:25
A vase is hurled across the room. Rodolphus easily dodges it. Lucius rattles his newspaper then turns a page, happy the vase is not his. Bellatrix screams at Rodolphus, "YOU TOLD HIM?"
"I knew I shouldn't have said anything to you. Why did I? Why?"
"BECAUSE YOU ARE A FECKING IDIOT, YOU BLOODY MORON!"
Rodolphus sweetly replies, "I love you too, Bellatrix."
This earns him another ceramic thrown, this time a plate on which some sweets had been arranged. Watching it sail across in front of him Lucius mumbles, "Pity that. The fig tarts were excellent."
Bellatrix violently paces, muttering to herself, agitatedly pulling at her hair, creating a standing on its ends look. Keeping an eye on her, Rodolphus lowers himself onto the sofa next to Lucius who asks soto voice, "So why did you tell her?"
Speaking in an equally low tone Rodolphus says with a shrug in his voice, "I thought she should know. It's been months now since I spoke with him so I saw no harm in telling her."
"And why did you say anything to him?"
"He's my son. I thought it my right to establish contact given I never had the choice or a say when he was born."
A sudden hush falls over them. Puzzled, the two men look about trying to determine what's changed. Both notice at roughly the same time that Bellatrix has left the room, miraculously not slamming the door so hard that it flew from its hinges.
Alone for the moment Rodolphus asks a question he's wondered about for awhile now. "Will you send Carina to Hogwarts?"
"We don't reside in Great Britain. She will most likely attend Beauxbatons when the time comes; but, we shall see."
"And Scorpius?"
"Draco and Astoria are considering moving and taking up residence at Malfoy Manor. If they do, they have said they might allow the boy, and any other children they might have, to attend Hogwarts but they do have years to make that decision."
"My son went to the Dutch Academy of Magic."
"Oh?"
"I don't know why. The family lived in Greenland for many years but the... parents could have chosen to send him and their other children elsewhere for school."
"Perhaps it made sense to them since they were living in a country considered Danish."
"Yes, I suppose. Still, Hogwarts should have been considered. My boy might have been in Slytherin."
"Do you know that Hogwarts was not considered?"
"Well, no."
A cursing rant reaches their ears signaling Bellatrix's possibly return. The two men exchange a look then hastily rise, practically racing each other to a set of French doors that lead outside.
Eschewing Women For Life
Author: Jared
Date: 02-01-16 19:49
Jared went on a holiday that began on the 30th of December. He didn't actually go anyway, holing up in his flat, though he told friends and family he was off to Barbados. Knowing he'd get comments on his lack of tan upon his return, Jared used a tanning spell a couple of days before returning to work.
He had thought being gone two weeks would spare him the pitying looks and the awkward comments. If anything, the amount he has received of both is exponentially greater than he would have ever imagined, especially this many days after the fact. The worst are the small few women who have taken Alanna's dumping him and already remarrying as an invitation to come on to Jared.
One of those is Isabel Parker, who'd been a year behind Jared at Hogwarts and in a different house. Standing in line in the canteen for better coffee than anywhere in his department, he quietly sighs as Isabel slides up beside him. "Jared! I looked for you yesterday to invite you to a dinner this weekend."
"I'm sorry, Isabel, I've already got a commitment."
"Well, darn. Some of us decided somewhat impromptu to get together Saturday night. I immediately thought to ask you."
"Thank you for thinking of me."
"I'd suggest the following weekend but I've a commitment of my own that required an RSVP. I put down attending alone so it would be rude to bring someone as it's a wedding and reception." Isabel's eyes go large and she puts a hand to her mouth. "Oops. I shouldn't have mentioned the occasion."
"It's fine, Isabel. I won't explode or have a meltdown or anything like that upon hearing the words wedding and reception."
"Still, that was insensitive of me."
"Really, it's fine. Don't worry about it."
Isabel, smile bright, reaches out to touch Jared's arm. "You're sweet to say that. We really should get together and sometime soon."
Jared wants to tell her no way in hell is he ever dating again, that he is eschewing women romantically for the rest of his life, but with another small, quiet sigh he diplomatically replies, "We'll see, Isabel."
Jared moves along the line, paying for his coffee, leaving Isabel pondering which salad she wants for lunch. He should ask for a transfer to a foreign office where no one knows him or knows that his wife not only left him but had rushed through the divorce and had hardly blinked before getting engaged and married again.
Stepping into one of the lifts, Jared gives the transfer idea serious thought.
Research Research Research
Author: Jet
Date: 02-02-16 20:49
Jet had been putting in so much time on his various research projects, including that on Cymdeithas y Sarff that his immediate department head insisted he take a few days off. He took the days off to sit at home devoting even more time to finding all he can on the secret organization.
Over the past months Jet has been able to learn a great deal more than he had thought when first setting out to find out who the group is and why it went to the lengths it did for the information in his head. Then, he ran into a dearth of information and had yet to meet anyone mainstream who had heard of it even as a rumor or a mythical construct.
Now, he has amassed a significant number of facts and figures on the group's foundation, history, and significant members through the years. He also thinks he's found what power they believe they'll gain using the information in his head.
From what he's been able to gather, some of the information is for a potion and some is for an incantation. The potion is to be drunk, the incantation being performed twice before drinking the potion and twice after. Supposedly, the potion increases a witch's or wizard's ability fifty fold. A squib with even the smallest amount of ability would suddenly be gifted. The wizarding person of average, normal ability would become strong and difficult for another of average, normal power to beat in a duel. Someone already strong could become almost impossible to defeat.
As yet, Jet hasn't found any information on whether the potion is permanent or temporary and if temporary, for how long. That's one of the items he's still researching. He's also attempting to find out about the rest of Salazar Slytherin's information crammed into his head. One segment may be for a five part spell but for what he has no idea and he can't seem to determine where that one segment begins and ends.
His stomach grumbles causing Jet to look up and at the clock. Hours have passed and it's well past suppertime now. He forgot to go shopping again for grocery items and unless he wants to nibble on some slightly stale crackers or the two or three bites left in a yogurt container, he needs either go eat out or get take away. Jet thinks about it as he runs fingers through his hair and looks for his shoes that he would have sworn were sitting at the end of the sofa.
There's a somewhat new Brazilian place just down the way from him and it tends to be open late even in weeknights. Feijoada or caruru would be good or perhaps churrasco of some sort. The place isn't far so he'll walk, giving him time to decide what sounds best, though could be he'll have to wait and see the menu before being able to pick. Deciding he'll just each there, he grabs a book to read and leaves the flat, his mind going not to what to eat as he walks but to that five part spell and figuring out its specific components from the information in his brain and contemplating what possible use such a spell would be.
Payback
Author: Gerry
Date: 02-03-16 18:13
Gerry and Will sat side by side in History of Magic class, which so happened to be a double and felt like it would never end. Both boys weren't fond of history. They didn't see the point of learning about the past when the here and now was all that mattered. Who really cared about goblin wars or when some boring law was enacted by the Ministry of Magic?
Never ending History of Magic class came after double Herbology, which at least had been somewhat entertaining. Gerry and Will had tried their hands at repotting leaping toadstools. Even as they left the greenhouse, renegade mushrooms jumped here and there, having avoided getting wrangled during the practical exercise.
Now all either boy wanted was lunch. Gerry's stomach made a loud growl, which Will heard and caused him to snicker. Some other students seated around Gerry heard it too and smiled or chuckled. Professor Morgan briefly paused her lecture on whatever dull topic she was discussing to see what was amusing before ultimately carrying on.
Gerry could feel another growl coming on, but Professor Morgan dismissed the class and the shuffling of parchments and chairs sliding across the classroom floor ended up drowning out the sound his stomach made. He got up, grabbed his books, and walked out of the classroom with Will.
They reached the bottom of the marble staircase the same time the Hufflepuff girl they scared at Halloween came up from the cellar. She didn't notice them at first, because the entrance hall was rather busy at that time of day. Gerry spotted her right away and pointed her out to Will.
"Think she's potty trained now, Wentworth?"
Will snickered. "She probably wears diapers so that she won't have another embarrassing accident."
By then, Kaycee had noticed them. She held her head high and cut across their path to the double doors of the Great Hall. When she crossed the threshold, it was during a rare moment of no other traffic in and out of the dining chamber. She timed it just right. Knowing the boys were right behind her, for she could hear them teasing her about peeing herself in public, Kaycee let one of the heavy doors fall swiftly shut behind her. It looked completely accidental.
The door smacked right into Gerry's face and also stubbed his toe through his shoe. Will was just slightly behind Gerry and managed to avoid any injury. Gerry felt hot liquid rush down his face and knew that his nose was bleeding profusely, if not broken. The blood got into his mouth and stained the front of his uniform.
"Merlin's beard!" Will exclaimed. "She got you good, didn't she?"
Gerry shot Will an annoyed look. "Howd'ya gnow she did id od burbose?" He was already turning away from the door with plans to go to the Hospital Wing, even though his stomach was still growling. He had the sleeve of his robes pressed to his face, though not too hard, since his nose was throbbing.
Will walked with him, knowing where Gerry was headed without having to ask. "Well, didn't she? She had to have seen and heard us."
Gerry shrugged. He didn't think Kaycee had it in her to get even with them. She was just a girl, and one of those nice Hufflepuffs, after all.