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Reflections on the Weekend
Author: Marzipan
Date: 06-15-16 19:11
After dismissing the 1st year Ravenclaw and Slytherin students, Professor Ravenscroft spent a few minutes cleaning up daisy petals and exchanging the potted daisies for the parrot flower, which the second years would study after lunch. She decided to take the interior route to the Great Hall and poked her head into the other greenhouses to look for Professor Masterson, but he was not present. Marzi knew that his only class let out a full hour before her last morning class and that he didn't always stay in the greenhouses afterwards, but sometimes he did.
She frowned upon not seeing him and continued on her way to the Great Hall. Over the weekend, Marzi travelled to Sydney to visit with the other Herbology (or similar) professors to discuss the Best in Show: Magical Plants event for the Scholastic Aptitude Tournament. It would have been a homecoming for both Marzi and Lawrence, who had grown up in Australia and even attended Sydney's School of Wizardry. For some reason at the very last minute, Lawrence bowed out of attending the meeting. He never even left Scotland.
Marzi found the abrupt cancellation odd and wondered if something had happened, but Lawrence didn't indicate anything wrong other than preoccupation with something. Marzi was sorry he hadn't made it to the first meeting of Herbology professors, especially with it being his first time as staff sponsor for the SAT. However, after her initial arrival, her disappointment and concerns were soon forgotten.
Australia was in a fever pitch because the national Quidditch team had beaten Argentina in April and was slated to play somebody in the quarterfinals. On top of that, neighboring New Zealand battled Brazil on Saturday and won, too. It was almost too difficult discussing the SAT over the excitement of the Quidditch World Cup. England was scheduled to play Nigeria this coming Saturday.
Most of the Best in Show: Magical Plants staff sponsors were the same from ten years ago. The only new staff members were Lawrence, Marzi's co-sponsor, and a wizard from Beauxbatons who just so happened to be the wizard Marzi spilled hot cocoa on in Hogsmeade a few months ago. What a small world it was to discover that the wizard she met by chance was now her colleague and someone with whom she shared a passion. Not only that, but he was a widower with two children. His kids were older than Marzi's, though.
Overall, the first meeting of minds was a great success and Marzi looked forward to their next one. The question was, would Lawrence turn up this time or skip it again?
(Oliver) Mustachioed
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 06-16-16 19:12
Oliver yawned and looked over at the clock on the fireplace mantelpiece. It was after supper but not yet bedtime or time for his last class of the day, Astronomy. He still found it surprising that one of his seven classes took place late at night. That never would have happened at his old school. Then again, Astronomy wasn't offered where he had gone to school previously. The only science class he had ever taken had been plain old science.
He yawned and closed his eyes, even though he knew it was a bad idea. At least he was sitting up and not curled up on the sofa in the common room.
The next thing he knew, Rand was shaking him awake.
Oliver woke with a start and found that he had tipped over so that his head was resting on the arm of the sofa. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Is it time to go?" he asked.
"Not yet," Rand said. "I'd have let you go for a bit longer but watching you sleep was making me sleepy too. There there's the whole bit with your mustache."
"My what?" Oliver asked. He touched his upper lip but didn't feel any hair there.
Laughter in the corner of the room from some older Gryffindors drew his attention. They looked at him and snickered.
"I didn't see who did it, but I think we can guess," Rand said. "Best go look in a mirror."
Oliver got up and made his way to the boys' lavatory and looked at his reflection in the first mirror. Drawn over his upper lip was a mustache in thick, black ink. Oliver turned on one of the faucets, wet his fingers, and tried to rub the ink off his face. It wouldn't go away, though.
After a good bit of scrubbing, with his fingers and several washcloths, Oliver felt himself grow panicked. He didn't want to go to Astronomy class with a fake mustache on his face. Professor Goode might think he wasn't taking class seriously and deduct points from Gryffindor. Besides, it would be humiliating being seen in public with a mustache drawn on his face.
"Could be worse," Rand said, having entered the bathroom and seen that Oliver's face and the front of his clothes were all wet, but the mustache looked untouched.
Oliver knew Rand was trying to help, but the comment really didn't lift his spirits. "What can we do?" he asked.
"We can ask Declan, I mean Professor Douglass," Rand suggested.
"Or Uncle Ethan," Oliver said.
He stared at his ridiculous reflection and then nodded his head. "Right. Let's find whichever one's office is closer. But wait… what about curfew?"
"I think this qualifies as an emergency," Rand said, "and besides, we do have class tonight. Could be we're just getting an early start out."
Oliver nodded. It was sound reasoning. "Yeah, okay. Let's go."
He hesitated, wondering if he could put a bag over his head first, but then he decided to just go. The sooner he got rid of the seemingly permanent mustache, the better!
Lunch In A Muggle Restaurant
Author: Ron Weasley
Date: 06-16-16 20:44
Taking in all the kitsch scattered around the restaurant he tells Harry, "I have no idea what most of this means but I've got to bring Dad here."
"I wasn't even thinking. I should have invited him."
"I wasn't either. I could very well have asked him to join us. Of course, I had no idea you had a Muggle place like this in mind."
"Muggle? That a new slang word? I can't ever keep up." The middle aged waitress puts down their drinks and asks, "You decide what you'd like, luvs?"
Treating her questions about the word Muggle as rhetorical they both give their respective lunch order, Ron waiting until she's walked away before saying sotto voice, "Sorry. I didn't know she was near enough to hear." On another topic he asks after Kingsley's cousin, "How's Max?
"Improving, enough so that Nigil's being picked up today. We've got him for too many bank vault heists to count, the attack on Max, and attacks on a few others."
"Does he know yet about you?"
"No, and possibly won't until I'm called to testify during the trial."
"Any word on when you can be a full-time auror again?"
"Nothing and with the Adriana issue no closer to being resolved I'm not holding my breath."
"Every time I see you at the complaints desk I want to throw a fit the likes of which no one would question where Rose gets it when she's in a tizz."
"You do that, you're likely to end up on the desk next to me."
They go quiet as the waitress returns with their meals. When she's gone again Harry asks, "The task force is fully disbanded?"
"Other than when any of us to give depositions or to testify, that sort of thing. As horrible as this sounds, I miss it."
Harry understands without needing to be told that Ron thinks it's horrible to miss the task force because of the entire reason for the task force's being. At least he's made some interesting friends from other law enforcement bureaus around the world.
The rest of lunch is spent with Ron telling Harry about some of his active cases and Harry telling Ron about some of the more interesting, and strange, complaints coming across the complaints desk.
Project Partners (Daniel & Jill)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 06-17-16 20:53
Jill joins Daniel at a small library table. "I'm sorry about this."
He shrugs. "Not your fault. Luck of the draw."
The professor of a class section they are both assigned a project to be done in pairs. Rather than allowing the students to choose their own partners she chose for them, drawing names from a cloth bag. Her, "Jill Prewitt," was followed by, "Daniel Gelson." That they were the third and fourth names drawn had meant the odds were in their favors not to get paired yet here they are.
An awkward silence falls as they pull out the project information. Jill breaks it by asking, "Are you ever going to forgive Olive and me?"
"I've already told you both I forgive you," he somewhat stiffly replies.
"You've said the words, you've told others you have, but deep down, you haven't. Not really."
"I don't know what to say."
"Olive and I did you a favor."
"I loved Iris. Love. Still do."
"We made you aware of an aspect of Iris; but, here's the thing. No one forced you to break things off with her. Knowing she was interested in the family money you could have continued on with her. Gotten married by now. At least it would have been with open eyes."
"No, I couldn't have continued our relationship."
Jill purses her lips. "Sure you could have. Olive and I didn't break up your relationship with what we told you."
"Not directly but it led to that. I did ask Iris to marry me and she said yes but when I presented her with a prenuptial agreement, Iris refused to sign. She tried to convince me we wouldn't need one. When I stood firm that she had to sign, we argued. Iris ended things by giving me back the ring and telling me in graphic terms what I could do with the prenup."
"Oh," is all Jill can think to say at this information.
Daniel runs fingers through his hair, loudly expelling a breath. "She got married two weeks before term began. His family is not only wealthy but I hear he gets money from a massive trust fund set up by one grandmother and in another two years he gets the money in another fund set up by his other grandparents."
Jill sighs and once again cannot think of anything more pithy than, "Oh."
Daniel taps the project information parchment. "We'd best get started with figuring out what we're going to do."
Jill glances down at her own parchment. "Yes, sure. Any of the options stand out to you?"
(Ash) Jumping to Conclusions
Author: Rowan Westwick
Date: 06-19-16 10:12
Ash sat at his desk in the Wizarding Audit Office at the Ministry of Magic and reviewed the contents of an account spreadsheet. It was one of many parchments with figures from the different Ministry departments and their various divisions. The binder on Ash's desk was so thick, he didn't think he'd ever get to the end of it. It didn't help that he was starting to go cross-eyed from scanning each individual line for errors or other issues.
He decided to take a coffee break and got up from his desk to visit the little break room in his office. Ash started a small pot of coffee and then picked up a copy of The Daily Prophet someone had left on the round table in the middle of the room. He usually read the paper at home while he ate breakfast, but his father had gotten to it first this morning and by the time Linden had finished with it, it was time for Ash to go to work.
He leaned against the wall and opened the newspaper, quickly scanning the headlines for anything of interest. There was a lot of coverage on the Quidditch World Cup and especially this Saturday's match involving the home team. Ash wasn't planning on going to the match, but he and Jupiter would probably listen to it on the WWN. Neither were avid Quidditch fans, but it was still exciting when one's own team played.
Ash almost closed the newspaper when a small article on the arts page caught his attention. It featured a young twenty-something wizard by the name of Antoine Dolov who had just opened a small, temporary art gallery on Conduit Street in Mayfair, London. The gallery was housed in a narrow townhouse overlooked by Muggles and consisted of Dolov's paintings, which featured scenes of wizarding life like degnoming gardens or shoppers in Diagon Alley.
There was a small photograph of Dolov standing in front of a painting depicting the Fountain of Magical Brethren at the Ministry of Magic, with wizards in business attire walking in front of it on their way to work. Two things struck Ash about the wizard in the moving photograph: his name, and his eyes, which seemed all too familiar.
Was it purely coincidence that Antoine Dolov sounded eerily similar to Antonin Dolohov? Was it only in his mind that Dolov's eyes reminded Ash so much of the eyes that had cursed Ash into a nesting doll all those years ago? Ash never could forget those eyes, especially since they'd been the last thing he'd seen before being cursed. Was Dolov the reason Ash sometimes felt like he was being watched?
He knew he was jumping to conclusions, but Ash really wanted to find out more about Dolov. Was he Dolohov's son or nephew? Was he actually Dolohov himself, who was supposed to be in Azkaban still but maybe wasn't?
Ash stared at the photo for a long moment, then folded up the paper and tucked it under his arm. He poured himself a cup of coffee, stirred in a bit of milk, and then went back to his desk. There was no way he could concentrate on numbers when all he could think about was finding out more about Antoine Dolov, but somehow he had to get through the rest of the day first.
At the Hospital
Author: Lee Sickleby
Date: 06-19-16 11:32
Lee sat at Alaia's bedside at St. Mungo's and watched as she slept. She had been in and out of the hospital since last month, though she hadn't felt well for longer. The healers couldn't seem to determine what the matter was and no potion they gave her or spell they performed seemed to improve her condition. If anything, she appeared to be getting worse little by little.
Lee was afraid he would lose his wife before long. It devastated him to think about it, especially considering they hadn't been married for very long. He had imagined a very full life with Alaia. They were supposed to have children and maybe a dog and a cat and live happily ever after at their house in Leyburn. His job shouldn't allow for all the comforts in life, but Lee wanted it all the same.
Maybe it was Lee's fault Alaia had fallen ill. Was it karma because he hadn't listened to his own concerns about falling in love and bringing somebody else into his dangerous lifestyle? While it was true Alaia still had no idea what he really did for a living, she was still involved by association. Rowle was right. Alaia might be clueless about the true nature of Lee's work, but her involvement in Lee's life nevertheless posed a danger to the both of them. He didn't wanted to lose her or end their relationship, but if she left him one way or another, it would probably be for the best…
Alaia started to stir, but it soon became clear to Lee that she was merely dreaming. Her eyelids fluttered and she twitched as she slept. Lee watched for a little while, feeling slightly amused despite the gravity of the situation. After a while, he leaned back in his chair and allowed his mind to wander to work.
His mission in Madrid had been successful, though not without danger. Lee had found plenty of evidence linking the mob boss Zukovsky to the Russian government and had done his best to collect as much of it as possible before fleeing the scene. Rowle had been pleased with his work, though he'd seemed particularly interested in the part Travers had played in the heist. In the interview that followed the mission, Rowle had asked Lee many questions about the diversion. It had been an odd thing to fixate on, but Lee had answered Rowle's questions as thoroughly as possible. He knew he was only on a need-to-know basis and maybe what Travers did or didn't do during the mission wasn't something he needed to know much about.
Alaia turned her head and began to whimper and moan. Lee thought she still might be dreaming but then he realized that maybe she was coming out of sleep and that the pain potions were beginning to wear off. He got up and called for a nurse, who came running to check on the ailing patient.
Always Hungry These Days (Mason)
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 06-19-16 12:05
Boris and Mason sit down at the Slytherin table, their eyes roving up and down the table taking in today's midday meal offerings. No sooner has his bottom touched his seat then Boris is half standing pointed to a dish just out of reach. "Yo, firstie. Pass that."
Walter Wickham looks across at Boris, unsure whether to be pleased or not that a seventh year noticed him. He puts his hand on a platter of spiced honey ham. "This?"
"Yeah."
Walter passes it, pleased when the mighty, and somewhat scary, seventh year thinks to say, "Thanks," even if it is somewhat absentmindedly.
Mason softly sniggers at the expression on the firstie's face then wonders if he was ever that in awe of the higher years. After serving himself a heaping helping of bangers and mash. Pointing to a bowl he asks the girl closest to it, "Is that jellied eel?"
She nods. "Looks like. You want."
"Yes, please." To Boris he says, "I don't know what it is lately but I'm hungry all the time these days."
"All the extra studying," Boris says between bites of a bacon butty. "I'm always famished too."
"From your first statement that implies you've been studying extra," Mason smirks.
"Maybe not as much as the Big Brains," he gestures with his fork to the Ravenclaw table, "but you know da.. darn," he hastily changes the damn he was about to say to darn as Professor Snape walks past, "well that I have been getting in some NEWT prep."
Mason smirks again but refrains from joking about Boris's use of some rather than something like lots or loads or heaps or some other word to indicate a massive increase in his amount of studying. Instead, he says, "Pass me one of those bacon butties. I've still two classes to get through then I'm meeting Sarah Edwards to get in some Herbology NEWT studying."
Boris grins. "Sarah, huh." He drawls out the name Sarah. "Studying. Suuuure."
Mason rolls his eyes then takes a big bite of the bangers and mash. This could be a long lunch.
(Sadie & Ramona) Making Weekend Plans
Author: Griet
Date: 06-20-16 10:19
Sadie and Ramona shared a table at Orange and talked about their plans for the weekend. Both had tickets to see the World Cup Quidditch match between England and Nigeria. They had missed the opening ceremony in Greenland and hadn't gone to any of the other matches, though both had avidly listened to the coverages on the Wizarding Wireless Network.
Their travel plans included leaving England on Friday evening, camping on the frozen grounds in Ittoqqortoormiit Friday and Saturday night, and returning home sometime on Sunday. Their hope was the match wouldn't last longer than a day because both had classes at St. Emrys on Monday morning. With it being so close to finals, it probably wasn't a good idea to skip.
Both girls had been encouraged to attend the match by their various professors due to their respective fields of study. Sadie wanted to be a Quidditch coach someday and had recently been named team captain of the Chimaeras for next season. Ramona wanted to design broomsticks and had just earned a part-time internship at the Cleansweep Broom Company. Both Sadie and Ramona expected to see many of their classmates and even professors at Saturday's match.
Sadie looked at the time on her watch and frowned. "Time for class already. Did you want to meet for dinner tonight?"
Ramona replied, "I've already got plans to meet up with Gus, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we all got together. We wanted to try that new pub not far from the cabin."
"If he really won't mind, I'll see if Hunter is available to join us," Sadie said. She got up, pushing back her chair, and picked up her lunch tray.
"Sounds good," Ramona said. She waited for Sadie to return to the table to collect her book bag and then also rose to her feet. Ramona had her own book bag already slung over her shoulder and the lunch tray was in her hands.
"Later, then," Ramona said, who had to get to her next class, Prototype Development.
"See you," Sadie said. She headed for the door and made her way down the corridor to the classroom where her Financial Management for the Sport Industry class met.