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A Letter
Author: Declan
Date: 12-05-16 21:17
Rand enters the Great Hall with Oliver and many of the other second year Gryffindor and Slytherin students coming from Defense Against the Dark Arts. As the Gryffindors have Herbology in an hour and the Slytherins have History of Magic, they tend not to dawdle when getting to a table to eat lunch.
Usually, Rand is right there with them, breakfast seeming ages ago and wanting to have plenty of time to enjoy lunch. What he does today instead is drop his bookbag next to Oliver's, retrieves something from a side pouch, then walks to where Declan and Zabrynna sit at the head table.
Before either can greet him or ask if he needs something he says, "I finally got an owl from my mum but..." Rand shakes his head and holds out the letter. "Maybe you should read it first."
Declan reaches across the table to take the letter, holding it so Zabrynna can read it as he does.
Hello Rand,
I apologize for taking such a long time to write. Father found the perfect place for us and we have been busy buying the land, building, and getting moved. We have also been setting up some new businesses to help our community sustain itself.
I trust school is going well and you continue to make high marks.
I shall try to write again soon.
We miss you here.
Mother
Declan reads over the letter twice. Zabrynna takes it from him to read through a second time as well. As she does Rand tells them, "I know it says it's from Mum but I don't think she wrote it."
"Doesn't sound much like Melanie," Declan agrees.
Zabrynna has folded the letter and placed it between Declan and her. "Having seen some of the few letters she has written you, Rand, I don't think this seems like her either."
"Why would someone else write a letter for her? Do you think she hurt her hand or arm and asked someone? But if she did that, why wouldn't she tell them what to write so that it sounds like her?"
"All very good questions, Rand. I'll see what I can find out though it may take time. This letter says the group has moved but doesn't say where. There isn't a return address on the envelope."
Zabrynna gently says, "We'll find out something just as quickly as we can but, as Declan said, it may take time. Now, you should go eat before you run out of time before you need to go out to the greenhouses for Herbology."
"Thank you," Rand says. Leaving the letter with them he returns to where he left his bookbag asking Oliver as he sits, looking over the meal offerings, "What's good today?"
Uneasy
Author: Lee Sickleby
Date: 12-06-16 20:02
Lee pulled the curtains closed over the windows and walked into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. He had not been back at work since returning home from Switzerland, having been put on administrative leave upon his return. Rowle had stated the punishment stemmed from Lee's lack of communication regarding the length of his requested personal leave of absence. Although Lee had no way of knowing for sure, he suspected the real reason for his administrative leave was because Rowle had correctly guessed why Alaia had been whisked into hiding.
The couple had spent some time settling back in to their home upon first leaving Switzerland, but Alaia had eventually returned to work. Lee had wanted to prevent her from going but he'd not known how to stop her without admitting to all his lies. Alaia thought he was only worrying because she'd nearly died and only just made her miraculous recovery. She assured him she felt perfectly fine and promised to tell him immediately if she felt the slightest bit ill.
Lee could only comfort himself by putting extra security spells around the bakery. His reasoning to Alaia was because he needed something to do while he waited to find out if he could return to work. Also, Diagon Alley was a highly-trafficked place and it wasn't as if the bakery hadn't been the scene of a crime in the past.
As for Divina, Lee expertly feigned surprise upon hearing she hadn't received any of the letters Alaia had sent her from Switzerland. He also claimed the reason he'd not communicated where they'd suddenly gone was because he was distraught that he might lose his wife and was focused only on making her well again. He simply forgot about everything else because nothing else was important.
Divina had seemed to accept his answer. If she hadn't, then Lee might as well quit being a spy because he wasn't doing a good job of shielding the truth. It also probably helped that Alaia was home again and no longer on death's door. Divina was ecstatic to have her best friend again, and things seemed to be back to normal.
Lee heard a commotion at the fireplace and dropped everything to check on it. Alaia was already in the process of removing her coat. She looked over at Lee and laughed.
"You always look like you're about to go into battle whenever I come home."
"Sorry," Lee said, relaxing and crossing over to his wife to pull her into his arms. "I'm just glad you're home."
"I'm think you're stressed from not working. How long are they going to take to decide whether to let you come back or not?"
"I"m not sure," Lee said. He didn't want to work for Rowle anymore, but he wanted it to be on his terms. Lee wanted to expose Rowle for what he was and see him sent to Azkaban. That was a job not easily done, though.
"Come on," he said to Alaia. "Dinner's almost ready." He pulled her into the kitchen.
Job Offer
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 12-07-16 20:13
Hermione was shown into Minister Shacklebolt's office by one of his assistants. He was in the middle of signing off on some documents when she arrived, so she politely stood out of the way and looked around the room. Most of the walls were lined with bookshelves, which pleased Hermione very much. The books nearest to her were a complete history of wizarding Britain. Next to those were codes of ordinances and other Ministry decrees.
Kingsley thanked the smartly dressed wizard who'd brought in the documents requiring the Minister's signature and dismissed him with a smile. The wizard greeted Hermione as he passed by to the door. He stepped out into the hall and pulled the door closed behind him.
"Thanks for coming," Kingsley said to Hermione. He rose from his chair and indicated for her to have a seat.
"Thanks for inviting me," Hermione answered. Being unemployed meant she had gobs of time on her hands. When she received Kingsley's owl, she made arrangements with Molly to watch the children. She arrived early and stopped by the Auror Office to visit Ron before heading up to see the Minister. Hermione was eager to find out why he'd requested that she visit him at the Ministry of Magic.
"I hope you haven't had lunch yet," Kingsley said, summoning a refreshments cart from the corner of the room. Under several covered domes were sandwiches, fruits like bunches of grapes, and sliced veggies with some kind of dipping sauce.
"I haven't," Hermione replied, though she had snacked on some chocolates Ron kept at his desk.
She and Kingsley helped themselves to some of the food and shot the breeze for a little while, but then Kingsley got straight down to business.
"Your research into the abbeys of Scotland has been extremely helpful," he said.
"But none of the ones you've investigated have been anything more than an ordinary ruin or the alleged site of a long-ago religious house," Hermione replied.
"It doesn't mean you're not on the right track," Kingsley said, "and we're ruling out the places where Adriana definitely is not."
"I suppose you're right. Do you want me to continue?"
"Of course! But I also have another job in mind for you, if you're interested."
Hermione's eyebrows rose. "What would you have me do?"
"The Muggle Prime Minister and I have come to an arrangement. He's agreed to hire a wizard who will serve as liaison between us both. His only requirement is that the wizard be someone who was raised in the Muggle world." Kingsley put down his sandwich half, planted his elbows on the surface of his desk and steepled his fingers together. "I can't think of anyone better suited for the position than you."
"But I don't have the experience," Hermione replied, "and what about Fleur?"
"He doesn't want Fleur, and she's not Muggle-born, besides," Kingsley replied, picking up his sandwich again. "Are you not interested, Hermione? I won't fault you if you say you'd rather not take the job, but you'd be doing both of our governments––and the Order––a great service."
Hermione quickly mulled over what Kingsley was asking of her. She was a fast learner and could definitely do the assignment well, but she wasn't sure that working for the Prime Minister was what she had in mind when she'd first come to terms with the fact that she'd walked out on her job as a healer. Then again, now was the perfect opportunity to start fresh. She also wanted to continue helping the Order and the wizarding world in general anyway she possibly could.
Resolved in her decision, Hermione fixed Kingsley with a steady gaze and announced, "I accept the offer. When do I start?"
Vague
Author: Lucius Malfoy
Date: 12-07-16 22:03
"For someone who paid an outrageous sum to be able to go out in the British public as yourself, you are practically a hermit, Lucius."
"The point is I am free to go out and about as myself whenever I wish. I simply have not wished to do so of late. As scarcely as you've been here these past weeks, I would not have thought you'd be aware just how often I am in versus out."
Bellatrix pours two fingers of whiskey into a glass, scowling at Lucius's, "A bit early is it not?"
Ignoring his comment she swirls the liquid in the glass as she moves to sit near the fire. "I, that is we, have been working on a project for," she pauses to take a sip, "you-know-who."
"That explains why neither Barty nor Gudrun have been around much."
Bellatrix takes another sip of her whiskey. "Is lunch soon?"
"Should be. Carina is with one of her tutors. Lunch should be served soon after the lesson ends. What is the project?" Lucius asks though he has no idea why. He has little interest in that woman and her illusions of grandeur.
Bellatrix doesn't respond immediately. When she does she replies somewhat vaguely. "I've been using what I learned bringing back Barty and he and I are using what we learned bringing back Gudrun."
"So you are resouling someone given the Dementor's Kiss."
"Noooo." Bellatrix drawls out the response as if debating what, if anything more, to say. "Not exactly."
Lucius starts to press but stops himself. He's only curious now because he knows there's more to be said. If she wanted to say more, she would. Perhaps she can't say more. Instead, Lucius puts the newspaper he'd been reading aside and rises. "I believe I shall check on how Carina's lesson is progressing. Lunch shouldn't be above a quarter of an hour to twenty minutes."
Leaving Bellatrix to finish her whiskey Lucius walks the short distance down the hallway to the room used for Carina's lessons, briefly wondering if Barty or Gudrun would be more forthcoming if asked.
(Azaelia) Stressed and Worried
Author: Isolde
Date: 12-09-16 16:41
After agonizing for several days on what to do about Robert, Azaelia eventually convinced herself to speak with someone at the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry of Magic was a large place, but Azaelia still worried that she would bump into Robert on the lift or in a corridor, but neither happened. She was first directed to hit wizard Dinias Fairchild, who took her statement and listened to her concern with patience and compassion. Since her concerns had to do with a possible Death Eater connection, Azaelia was ultimately passed on to an auror named Connor MacRoth.
She told her story all over again to Connor, who advised her to act normally around Robert while they conducted their investigation of him. Connor did not indicate that he knew who the man in the red fur hat was. His poker face was quite good, but Azaelia had a gut feeling that the man in the red hat was truly unknown to the Auror Office. Whether that was true now that a month had passed since Azaelia's visit to the Ministry of Magic was something she could merely guess at. Connor had not gotten back to her since their meeting.
Azaelia hoped that meant that Connor and the other aurors investigating Robert were busy gathering evidence against him, rather than surveilling him, or whatever they were doing, and coming up empty-handed. It wasn't easy acting normally around Robert in the meantime, but fortunately, he was away more often than not. Besides his work at the Ministry of Magic, Robert had joined a new football team, the Tweedmouth Rangers.
The Tweedmouth Rangers weren't a very good team. Since the season began, the team won two matches, tied one, and lost the rest, including the most recent one, which was against Robert's old team, the Craster Rovers. After two years of being the wife of a neighborhood league football player, Azaelia knew good and well that the matches were currently on hiatus for the holiday season and wouldn't resume till January. Yet, Robert claimed he was still busy with the Rangers. Azaelia suspected he was actually busy doing something with or for the man in the red fur hat, who may or may not be associated with the Death Eaters, and she hoped that Connor was paying close attention to Robert's activities.
Azaelia tried not to overly worry or stress about the situation. In the meantime, she tried to occupy herself with finding a suitable Secret Santa gift for Douglas Dippet. She'd gone to Diagon Alley to get a few things from the apothecary to soothe her nerves and the headaches that came from worrying too much. While there, she popped into Sugarplum's Sweet Shop, since chocolate did much in the way of healing. She got a few things for herself and several treats for Douglas, including chocolate-covered peppermint sticks, chocolate-covered pretzels, and chocolate-covered gooey, crispy treats. The obvious gift would have been something book-related, or perhaps even having to do with Slytherin, which was both of their Hogwarts houses, but Azaelia had a feeling Douglas would like the treats much better!
Running Into Etta
Author: Sage Porter
Date: 12-09-16 19:47
With Jared still off attempting to mend his broken heart and not having any regular standing lunch plans with other friends except for Georgia, Sage hadn't thought about setting something up until he was about to leave for lunch. He should do that this evening for tomorrow or Friday. He doesn't mind eating alone but it is nice to have a companion and even nicer to catch up with someone who he may not get to see on a regular basis any longer. He'd ask Georgia but she's in the middle of writing final exams for the current St. Emrys term. She gave him her schedule for the week and based on it and what's she's said her lunches through Friday are grabbed at one of the school canteens or even on the go between exams and last minute study sessions.
Having decided a curry or something along those lines sounds good, Sage enters his chosen restaurant and almost immediately spots Etta Wynbourne. It's a seat yourself type place so he makes his way over to her without having to go through a maitre d' or hostess. Noting the textbook and parchments spread out around her he says, "Hi, Etta. Last minute studying?"
"Pretending to. I came here because I needed a break from campus and thought it would be quieter than anything close by there but can't seem to focus."
"Maybe you're taking in more than you realize." Sage gestures to another table. "I'll leave you to it."
"No, no. Sit. I'd rather have the company."
Sage hesitates but then sits. A waiter is there almost instantly. Knowing what he wants without consulting the menu he orders. Before leaving the two of them alone the waiter tells Etta, "Yours will be out any minute now."
"Thank you." Etta looks to Sage. "How have you been?"
"Good. How about you?"
"Tired. This the part of the semester when I repeatedly question why I wanted to become a Healer."
"You'll make a great one."
"Some days I think I will. Other days I think I'll be so bad I'll be immediately sacked and lucky to get a job as a Muggle charwoman."
Sage chuckles. "Why a Muggle charwoman?"
"Takes less knowledge than wizarding maintenance," Etta laughs.
They are interrupted when a woman on her way out stops at the table. "Sage! Hello!" A glance is cast at Etta. "No longer seeing that other girl?"
"Dolores, hi," Sage says without much enthusiasm. "You know Etta. She's my friend Jared's sister. As for that other girl, Georgia and I are engaged."
"I see." Dolores now sounds even less enthused than Sage. "She seems nice enough."
There is an implied sentiment that Dolores does not vocalize. Sage says it for her. "She seems nice enough but she's got a Muggle born mother."
Dolores almost imperceptibly shrugs. She tries to hide a smirk but can't quite pull it off. "No one is perfect, dear."
Sage knows something few know about Dolores Umbridge. He calmly states, "You know, for someone whose own mother was Muggle born, you certainly do like to be critical and judge others for their lack of purebloodedness," adding Etta to those who now know this particular tidbit.
Dolores sputters, turning one of those shades of pink she loves so much. "I'll be sure to let your father know how rude his son can be."
She stalks away, Etta suppressing a snicker. As Dolores flings open the restaurant door, Etta can no longer contain her laughter with Sage soon joining in. They spend the rest of their lunch talking about Etta's classes and exams, Georgia, Jared, and the handful of dates Etta had had over the past several weeks, neither bringing up Dolores as each knows to do so would get them laughing overly loudly again.
(Alanna) Time to Act
Author: Beck
Date: 12-10-16 17:58
Ever since Anthony forced her into admitting that Reed was behind all of the family's troubles, Alanna lived in constant worry that her siblings were once again at risk of being targeted by Reed's masterful schemes. She tried not to overtly show her concerns or behave any differently than usual, because she didn't think that Reed knew what Anthony was up to yet. As resourceful as her husband was, Alanna had no doubt that he'd eventually learn the truth, what with Anthony poking around for clues. Reed had so many allies––bribed or truly loyal––who would probably catch wind of things sooner or later, especially since Alanna knew damn well that Anthony was like a dog with a bone. He would never give up until he discovered all there was to know about Reed's illegal and questionable dealings.
Because she knew her brother so well, Alanna realized that she could no longer simply sacrifice herself for the sake of her family. She had to act. A part of her imagined altering Anthony's memories so that he forgot using veritaserum on her, but then she would have to change up Ariella's memories too, since she knew the two were in league with each other when it came to her own situation. There was also the distinct possibility that even with his memories changed, Anthony would still reach the same conclusion some other way. He was intelligent and also determined to get to the bottom of things.
Also, Alanna didn't think she could betray her siblings' confidences the way Anthony did hers. She, of course, knew that he had only done what he'd done out of concern for her, but her fear of what Reed had already done and could still do outweighed all rational thought. At least, until now.
Alanna knew that she was best suited to expose Reed as a criminal and morally corrupt wizard. She lived with him and knew him well enough now to understand his habits, especially those not publicly seen. Alanna had no doubt that Anthony could discover much in his own investigation, but she believed that only she could truly bring down her husband.
Whenever possible, Alanna found an excuse to stay home alone so that she could search the house for concrete evidence against Reed. She figured that he was smarter than that––that he wouldn't keep documentation regarding what he'd done to each member of the Beck family, as well as others like Jared, anywhere at all. Alanna nevertheless searched, hoping she would be lucky.
There was no room in the house inaccessible to her. Reed allowed her to go freely and often encouraged her to sit in his office while he worked from home, which was rare. His office was lined all around with bookshelves and had a heavy wooden desk and leather armchairs. It looked like a library, except the books all had to do with wizarding law.
Some of Reed's desk drawers were locked, but the spells used to open them weren't anything complex. Alanna had been present enough times to witness what process Reed used for securing those drawers. The drawers contained no damning evidence, even beneath the false bottoms or hidden back compartments she found.
Her search was beginning to feel fruitless, but Alanna didn't have any plans of giving up. If she didn't find anything in the house, then she would turn her attention to the office at the Ministry of Magic. She could find some excuse to be alone in his office. As sickening as it made her feel, Alanna had the power to control Reed.
She was home today after claiming she had a bad headache. Fortunately, Reed never bothered to check on her when she was home sick. After searching under the bed, between the mattress, in the back of the closet, and behind paintings for hidden safes, Alanna found herself back in the office. She ran her fingers over the spines of the legal books. Many were part of a series and were bound in the same leather. There was a large set in navy. Some in burgundy. A few in green. And one yellow. Alanna stared at the yellow book for a long moment and then pulled it out, only it didn't come out all the way. Instead, it made a noise like a hinge opening.
Alanna gave the book a pull and felt the whole bookcase give way. It was a secret door that opened into a modest, walk-in closet-sized room. Alanna mostly saw piles and piles of gold galleons, but there were a few file boxes and books that looked like ledgers. She started to go into the room, when she heard a noise elsewhere in the house. Guessing Reed must be home from work, Alanna quickly shut the secret door, pushed the yellow book back into place, and hastily left the office. Her snooping would have to continue on another day.
Exams, Lists, and Notes
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 12-11-16 16:43
Fritz hands in his final exam for his Investigation in Potions A class and heads out the door of the classroom. The course, now completed if he passes the exam, is the only true class he's taking this term. His other commitments are writing his dissertation and teaching as a graduate assistant in a potions class. Fritz thanks his experience teaching at Hogwarts for making him feel more comfortable assistant teaching at St. Emrys, though the two are completely different. His students at Hogwarts are all children. His students at St. Emrys are adults, and some are actually older than he is.
Because of his TA assignment, Fritz has a ton of final exams to mark up for the professor for whom he works, and it all must be done before tomorrow ends. He decides he'll tackle his stack after lunch, but rather than cut across campus to visit one of the local eateries, Fritz decides to go to Diagon Alley.
Before stopping to eat, Fritz pulls out his Christmas list. It may still be the beginning of December, but he doesn't want to wait till the last minute to get presents for everyone. He'll look for things for his parents and cousin Otto, but if he buys them something from the wizarding world, it'll have to be fairly ordinary, like tea or a stationary set. Fritz is also planning on getting things for the various pets he and Coco share. Another gift will be for his Secret Santa. This year he drew Margaret Kegg's name.
For Margaret, Fritz finds a monogrammed pendant on a silver chain. He also gets her a special sack for stowing the necklace.
After conducting some of his Christmas shopping, Fritz decides it's time for lunch. He doubles back to The Leaky Cauldron, which always seems to be crowded. Fritz finds a single table in the middle of the room and claims it for himself. He orders a banger pub style sandwich with wedge chips and a butterbeer.
When the food comes, it also comes with a note. The waitress bearing his food tray says, "It came from that gent over there," but when they both look in the direction she's pointing, nobody's there anymore.
She shrugs and moves on to serve another customer. Fritz, meanwhile, unfolds the letter. It reads: The money doesn't belong to you.
Fritz doesn't have to guess what money the author of the note means. The mysterious author is wrong, though. The money was bequested to Fritz by the bequestor himself, or was it? The key to the Gringotts vault was sent to him mysteriously without any letter, and certainly no posthumously word from Berthold Beatenberg himself. The only proof Fritz has that the contents of the vault belongs to him comes from the Austrian government.
Fritz folds the note back up and slides it into his pocket. He scans the room to see if anyone is watching him, but nobody is. Whoever gave that note to the waitress is probably long gone, but Fritz doubts it's the last time he'll hear something about the money Beatenberg left him.
Exhausted
Author: Charlie Weasley
Date: 12-11-16 20:02
Charlie tiredly runs a hand over his face. He checks the time, seeing that he's still got a half hour before administering a final exam. He has one other exam to give tomorrow and then all that's left of the term is getting those exams graded and any from today he may have left and adding in those grades to others for final grades. From there he'll submit the parchmentwork with the grade information for each class section he's teaching this time.
Charlie hopes to be finished entirely by tomorrow afternoon but as exhausted as he is he might need some of the weekend. Ava has not been feeling well for a few weeks, fussy and cranky at all hours. In an effort to help ensure Hendrika gets the rest she needs in her condition, Charlie's done his best to beat her up when Ava's having a bad night.
They've taken her to their pediatric healer twice and to another healer recommended to them by her. So far neither has been able to pinpoint the problem. A variety of potions have been prescribed but so far none seem to be having much, if any affect.
Ava's crankiness has begun affecting the boys to the point that Schuyler sometimes wakes up when Ava has and won't go back to sleep until she has. Artie is sleeping the best of the three children but when awake tends to worriedly hover over Ava. She flip flops between loving the attention and being annoyed to have him there all the time, a change in their usual relationship of younger sister constantly following and pestering the older brothers.
Making a few notations on the essay he's reading, Charlie looks over the exam, taking in the marks he's made on it. Determining the grade, he sets it into a stack. Rather than moving on to the next to the last of this set of tests, he grabs up the exams he's about to administer and exits his office, locking it behind him.
Stifling a yawn as he walks, Charlie swings into a staff lounge area to grab a cup of coffee. Another reason he's overly tired is from tension. He's not said anything to Hendrika yet as she has enough to worry about. There have been several Raymond Washington sightings over the past several days. Hopefully, he'll be caught soon and they can finally learn what led him to experiment using dragons and find out what his ultimate goal was.
Reaching the classroom, Charlie enters. He's a little early but as there are always students with last minute questions, the time passes by quickly.
Mail
Author: Illyria
Date: 12-13-16 19:33
Despite being up early thanks to her sleepless son, Illyria hadn't taken breakfast in the Great Hall. Instead, she'd spent the morning in her quarters, feeding Ian and attempting to eat porridge with banana slices and raisins in between catnapping. She missed the Owl Post delivery, which came in through a mail slot in her front door. When Ian finally went down for an oh-so-brief nap around lunchtime, Illyria got up and found several envelopes and a rectangular package in a heap on the rug.
The first letter was from Ronan. He still lived in Arizona with his wife and worked a job in marketing at some wizarding firm there. His letter was a joint Christmas card and birth announcement for his daughter Tabitha.
Illyria thought it amazing that the boy she had considered her ward for a short time was now married and a new parent, with a baby just a few months younger than her own. She hoped that he would visit soon, so that she could meet baby Tabitha, but perhaps a visit to Tucson was in order for the Goode family.
The second letter was from her parents, who were inquiring if the family wanted to get together in Mumbai for the Christmas holiday, or if someone in Britain wished to host everybody. Illyria believed that Professor McGonagall would agree to the various members of the extended Jones family visiting Hogwarts over the holidays, but she thought she would ask before responding back to her parents. At the very least, there was the inn in Hogsmeade that could house everyone if they wished to spend Christmas in Scotland this year.
The third letter was curious. It was from someone Illyria didn't know, or at least she didn't recognize the name. Heathcote Hamstead claimed to be a former prisoner at the 14-15-14 community for nons, where Illyria had also gone after being snatched by the Relocation Assistance Committee over eight years ago. Mr. Hamstead wanted to start a survivor's support group.
Illyria herself didn't think of her time in the community for nons very often these days, and other than enduring terrible conditions, her mental and physical health hadn't taken a serious toll from the experience. In fact, she almost felt stronger as a result.
She wasn't sure how she felt about joining a survivor's group and reliving what had happened a long time ago, but she also wanted to keep an open mind about it. Perhaps she would attend one of the meetings just to see what it was like. She'd have to ask Marzi if she also received a letter about the group.
The package left on the rug was something Illyria had ordered from Twilfit & Tattings in Diagon Alley. It was a nice, Slytherin-green coat for Illyria's Secret Santa recipient, Callie Blackwell. Illyria planned on wrapping it today while Ian slept, but she wouldn't set the gift under the tree in the Commons until a little closer to Christmas.
As if on cue, Ian started to cry. With a sigh, Illyria abandoned Callie's coat for another, quieter time and went to check on her son.
Talking With Petra
Author: Jet
Date: 12-14-16 20:46
Expecting again, Petra keeps checking how far away she is from the couch cushion. When finally there she smiles triumphantly at Jet. "Told you I could do it by myself."
"I am amazed at your agility."
Petra makes a face at him then grins. "Now I need to use the loo." She holds out her hands. "Pull me up. Please."
Jet takes her hands but doesn't pull her up. She pulls on him and manages to lift herself a few inches. Jet laughs and pulls her up all the way. A few minutes later she's back, going through the slow process of lowering herself. Once settled the gestures to a course catalog on the coffee table. "Going to take more courses?"
"Thinking about it. There are days I still feel like the Ministry is keeping tabs on me."
"The Ministry could do that even if you were to get a job elsewhere."
"I know but at least I'd be out from under its thumb. Or at least have the appearance of it. I could leave the country but that wouldn't stop them if they were intent on knowing what I'm doing."
"Why do you think you're still being monitored?"
"Wanting to be sure that information is really out of my head."
"I don't think they have a way to check given no one truly knew what we were dealing with." Jet then says, "I spotted Emerson again today."
"I thought you said she and that bunch of crazies had been leaving you alone since you gave her the information about the group's history."
"They have, or I think they have. I'm not sure Emerson knew I saw her. She was in the Ministry canteen talking with someone. Her back was to me the whole time."
"So either she was there for something else or she's vastly improved her surveillance skills."
A knock on the door interrupts their conversation. Jet opens it to Petra's husband Matt, who carries Chinese takeaway. "Sorry it took longer than we thought," he says moving past Jet. "They had forgotten the Mu Shu and the pot stickers."
The whole reason for getting Chinese food was because Petra was craving Mu Shu pork and pot stickers.
Jet moves to help Petra up while Matt starts placing containers on the table. As Jet walks around her to get drinks for everyone she tells Matt, "I'm going to check on Matthew."
Their son is asleep in Jet's room. He stirs when she peeks in but doesn't wake. Back at the table she sits, again insisting she needs no help. Once they've all got food and drink Jet asks Petra and Matt if they've narrowed down the long list of potential baby names, chuckling when Matt replies, "Well, if Matthew gets to name the baby, boy or girl it will be Blue Dragon Canary Cream."