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Easter Egg Hunt
Author: Marzipan
Date: 07-06-12 10:42
The Ravenscroft family stepped onto the Hogwarts grounds and immediately headed for the area designated for the absolutely youngest children. Carter and Vallon were dressed in their Easter best, wearing slacks, button-up shirts and knitted vests that their grandmother had picked out for them.
This was the first Easter in which Carter and Vallon could truly participate, though they were still young enough to require their parents' assistance. Weston carried both boys, one on each hip, while Marzi held two small Easter baskets. Carter's was yellow and Vallon's was blue.
The grounds weren't yet full, but the beautiful, sunny day would no doubt draw in a large crowd. The sky was bright blue and there wasn't a single cloud in sight.
Soon enough, the family reached the age-appropriate hunting zone. Weston set both boys on the ground, and Marzi handed them their baskets. The boys tottered forward, Carter a bit more quickly than Vallon, but neither had any idea what they were doing. They mimicked some of the other children, who walked or stood around holding their own Easter baskets.
"Vallon, over here," Marzi coaxed, pointing out a blue and yellow egg hidden behind a clump of grass.
Her little boy came forward and bent over to grasp it with his little hand.
"Now put it in your basket," Marzi instructed.
Vallon dropped it into his blue basket. Then he grinned wide.
"Do you see anymore eggs?" Marzi asked him. Vallon seemed to understand now what the goal was and peered very hard at the grass.
Carter, meanwhile, had also caught on to the game. He already had three eggs in his basket.
"Egg!" he cried out, pointing at a golden one not far from where he stood. When another child reached it first, he let out a loud wail. But then the child held it out to him.
Carter stopped crying and took the egg, dropping it petulantly into his own basket.
Weston said, "Say thank you, Carter."
Instead, Carter rummaged through his four eggs and handed the child the one he thought he could part with the most. The child, a little girl with tiny, yellow pigtails, dropped it into her basket and then went off in search of more eggs.
"That was nice of you," Weston told him, bending down to ruffle the little boy's hair.
"Egg!" Carter said again, pointing out another one in the grass.
"Good eye!" Weston exclaimed.
Carter beamed and went forth to collect the egg.
Meagan's First Easter Egg Hunt
Author: Oreileah McCoi
Date: 07-06-12 12:26
Orei and Jim headed back onto the Hogwarts grounds with Meagan who was going to be participating in the annual Easter Egg hunt with some of the younger children. They had set up a blanket and picnic basket, and now Meagan was currently off with Jim in the area set off for the younger children hunting for eggs to fill her vibrant purple and pink Easter basket.
Orei took a few minutes to meet up with a couple of friends who were still attending, and speak to some of her former professors. She wasn't going to turn this into an advertisement for her business in Hogsmeade, but she knew that some had already discussed with her potential clients for the linguistics part of the business and wanting to talk to Christian for the legal aspects of the business as well.
Finally returning to the picnic basket after talking briefly to Professor McGonagall and learning about Gryffindor's victory the day before when she'd been in London dealing with a few things and shopping for Meagan's Easter dress for today which was a soft cream color and trimmed with bright yellow daisies and her hair was pulled back in a bright yellow ribbon to contrast the darker color of her hair that she'd inherited from Jim.
She reclined on the blanket and pulled a bottle of pumpkin juice out of the picnic basket and sighed, watching Meagan work with Jim to find eggs. She'd found a few and was enjoying herself quite a bit, the nine month old was already befriending some of the other children that were here earlier, as well as helping an older boy find some eggs.
Eventually she and Jim returned with Meagan who had quite a few eggs in her basket and kept trying to open them. Meagan was settled into her little bouncy seat and was currently sipping on a bottle and nibbling on some snacks while Orei and Jim relaxed.
Easter Egg Hunt
Author: Adina Blackwood
Date: 07-06-12 12:51
She'd gotten up this morning and before she could even put her feet in her slippers a bright silver and emerald egg could be seen hiding in the expanse of her slippers. She hadn't opened it yet, and currently it was sitting in her Easter basket as she headed down to the grounds for the Easter Egg hunt.
At the moment she hadn't started hunting, but was waiting for Arthur to get his lazy butt out of bed and come down and meet up with her. Her mum and her aunt were here and the Fu's were supposed to be joining them as well before the pair of students began hunting in earnest for their easter eggs and the more often than not epic goodies that were within them.
Soon enough the picnic blanket that Adina had set out was brimming with people and there were chairs and plenty of food to go around brought by both sets of families and finally Adina and Arthur could wander and start hunting for eggs.
Adina and Arthur both filled their baskets and they both after a few minutes of wandering to try and find a few more eggs returned to the blankets and started popping eggs. Arthur hadn't found any in his slippers, but he'd found one in his basket when he'd pulled it off his trunk this morning to come downstairs to meet up with Adina.
"What'd you get in the egg you found in your basket this morning?" She asked.
He pulled the egg out of his basket and cracked it open. Within was a gift certificate from Krum's Quidditch shop in the village. "Awesome! You could get a new broom or some other equipment."
"What about you Adina? I know you found one in your slippers earlier..."
Adina pulled out the silver and emerald egg and quickly opened it and within was a small scrap of fabric that when she shook it turned into a pretty emerald tank dress trimmed with silver and bore a beaded embellishment of the Slytherin crest at the hem. "That's really pretty and I bet it will look fantastic on you."
"It is from Narcissa's." She looked at the slip that was with it. "Yeah, it's going to fit perfectly. It will adjust to the size of the person who won it."
They talked for a few minutes longer and relaxed nibbling on some chocolate covered pretzels while talking about their plans for the summer.
Willow Westwick
Author: Rowan Westwick
Date: 07-06-12 12:52
Willow Westwick sat on the bed in her room at the home of Cyrus and Elgiva Finch and stared out the window. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun shown brightly. She could hear voices and laughter outside and knew that everybody was enjoying the lovely weather.
But not Willow. She didn't feel like enjoying anything.
She was twelve years old, except not really. She felt twelve and looked twelve, but she ought to be thirty-seven, almost thirty-eight.
And although she hadn't really noticed the passage of time when she'd been the tiniest nesting doll in a set, it bothered Willow that her life had been placed on hold for so long.
She didn't understand how Rowan had adjusted so quickly.
"Hey," Rowan said, as if she'd known Willow had been thinking about her.
Willow didn't turn around but did get up and approach the window. "Hi," she murmured.
"Elgiva wants to know if you want to go to Hogwarts today. There's an Easter egg hunt open to the public happening on the grounds. I think it could be fun, and I would also like to see how everything looks after all these years."
Willow turned around at that and frowned. "How can you stand it?"
Rowan chewed her lower lip. She'd felt such happiness upon seeing Willow for the first time in decades at the Department of Mysteries. Rowan had feared she'd never reunite with her family and had been thrilled to have at least one of her wishes come true.
Willow had certainly been happy to see a familiar face among the many strangers at the Ministry of Magic, but she'd appeared even more lost than Rowan had been during those first few days on her own in Knockturn Alley. Learning the truth had absolutely been shocking for Rowan, but the fact that she had survived made all the difference in the world.
Not so for Willow, apparently.
"Doesn't it bother you that all of our friends, everyone we used to know has moved on with their lives?" Willow went on. "What do you think happened to that boy you used to like? What was his name again?"
"Logan Meade," Rowan automatically answered. At least when she knew him at Hogwarts, Logan Meade had had hair so dark it was nearly black and blue eyes. He'd played beater for Slytherin and been in tip-top shape. He'd also been her brother's roommate.
"Yeah, Logan Meade," Willow echoed. "What do you want to bet he's married and has kids? He might even have kids our age!"
Rowan crossed her arms over her chest. "What's your point?"
"My point is maybe it would have been you who married him and had his kids. But you didn't because you were trapped in a doll for over twenty years."
"First of all, Logan would have never given me the time of day. He was too interested in that girl all the boys wanted. Remember her?"
"The one with the big," and Willow held out her hands before her chest.
"Yeah, her. Anyway, he never gave me a second glance. Secondly, I'm not saying that what happened to us hasn't affected our lives in a major way. It has, but we're alive, Willow. We have a second chance. Isn't that something to be glad about?"
"Yes, but…" she trailed off and hugged herself.
"I know. Trust me, I know."
Willow sighed. "What about Ash? What about Mum and Dad? We don't know where they are or if they even still exist? Maybe their dolls were destroyed."
"We'll look for them somehow," Rowan said. "Elgiva will help us. Don't you like her?"
"She seems nice."
"She's very nice."
Willow nodded. "Okay. This isn't going to be easy."
"I never said it would be," Rowan said, knowing her sister meant adjusting to their new lives and not the needle in a haystack that would be finding the three nesting dolls that were currently in a place or places unknown.
"Would it bother you if we don't go to Hogwarts today?" Willow finally asked. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet."
"That's okay. We can stay here, or we can go to the house if you are up to that. Do you want to see Westwick Grove again?"
The family home was still a mess, but Rowan and the Finches had been making some progress on cleaning it up.
Willow nodded. "Yeah, okay. I can start with that."
"Okay, then. Let me tell Elgiva and we'll head out."
Rowan smiled at her sister and then slipped from the room.
Knackered
Author: Dante Knight
Date: 07-06-12 14:19
On a bench under a tree, Dante refrains from pointing out to two students that he can see, not counting the egg in his hand, no less than eight decorated eggs. The one in his hand, a pale purple with vibrant orange stars, he'd discovered in his goblet this morning in the Great Hall when he'd gone to pour himself some grape juice. Pocketing it until after he ate Dante pulled it out when choosing this tree to settle under.
Back squared against the trunk of the tree, Dante shifts the egg from one hand to the other, his eyelids threatening to drop of their own accord. He is completely knackered. Since that visit from his father a few days ago, Dante has split his time between his duties at Hogwarts and the hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with very little sleep in between.
Dante had known his mum had to have been at seriously ill for his father to even contemplate a Muggle hospital. That his father had taken her from the Muggle hospital to a Wizarding one meant her condition was critically grave. When he'd arrived Dante found the frail, thin woman nearly unrecognizable as the woman he calls Mum. There was definitely near worry that she'd be recognized by anyone as the Lorraine Vickers whose blurry photo ran in the main British daily newspaper this past February along with an much older photo of her taken several years before Dante had even been born.
Mum has been in and out of it, sometimes not really even there when she is awake but at other times, she's been lucid and talking. While she does seem to be improving overall, Dante is not going to scale back visiting as there is always a chance for a turn the other direction. As stormy as their relationship has been, particularly these last few years, no matter what she's done in the past, this is still his mother. It's important to them both to be there as often as he can for as long as he's able.
With the time difference to Halifax, it's still somewhat early there for visitors. He also doesn't want to go to his quarters and nap because tired as he is, Dante knows he'd most likely sleep through even a hurricane as a wake up call, causing him to miss out much of what time today he could spend either at his mother's bedside or nearby while one of the others sits with her. He'll make do with plying himself with pepper up potion and drinking coffee or other highly caffeinated beverages.
Jerking his head up with a start, Dante becomes aware of just how close he'd come to falling asleep against the tree. Forcing himself to stand up, he thinks he'll take a stroll around to see what sort of goodies are being found in eggs and then, if he's still struggling to stay awake, he'll go on a run. After that, it should be late enough here that he could use the portkey from his father to get to Halifax for several hours.
His egg in hand, thinking to hold on to the mystery of its contents a little longer, Dante leaves those two students still looking everywhere in the vicinity for eggs but missing the eight he'd so easily spotted.
(Mark) By the Shores of the Lake
Author: Isolde
Date: 07-06-12 14:41
Mark felt a little silly about carrying around an Easter basket. The one he'd selected from the lot offered by the school was jet black, so at least it didn't look too girly or childish. He might have avoided the Easter egg hunt altogether, had the prospect of decent prizes not been an option. Already, he'd found a certificate to play laser tag at Blossom's and a giant sack of sweets that were every color of the rainbow.
Kate's basket was beige and had a simple pink ribbon around it. She'd found a fair amount of eggs already but hadn't felt the need to open any yet. Mark was impatient to know what she'd found but didn't press her on the issue. She would tell him in good time and probably share with him too.
The fact that they could enjoy the Easter egg hunt together was a blessing. Mark's parents had decided to go on holiday on some Greek island. They would return home in time to see Mark for Easter break.
Kate's father had also begged off visiting, but not for his own enjoyment. He had a major deadline for work that involved him going into the office on a Sunday of all days.
They came around a set of bushes and stumbled upon Felicia and Baltus, whose empty Easter baskets were abandoned on the grass. They were too busy making out to collect any eggs.
Mark and Kate snickered and moved on, but not before witnessing Professor McGonagall swooping upon the lovebirds.
The pair hadn't seen Johanna or Gus outside of breakfast and didn't know whether or not they had family coming. Kate wished that Gus would get over Polly and see Johanna as more than just his friend. Polly was a nice enough girl, no matter what Johanna thought, but Kate would much prefer to see her friend happy. If only Gus could notice what was right in front of him!
Mark didn't really have an opinion, but then he was a guy and didn't really involve himself in stuff like that. He steered Kate over to the edge of the lake, and they sat down together.
The giant squid seemed to be enjoying the sun. It floated on the surface of the glistening water and occasionally used its tentacles to splash itself.
Kate turned to Mark and asked, "What do you think will happen if your parents find out we're still together?"
Mark frowned. "They'll probably disown me, or they will send me to therapy."
"I don't want to cause a rift between you and your parents."
Mark put his arm around her. "I don't want you to worry about that. I wish they could get over themselves and see you as I see you, but I'm not going to hold my breath on that one. They'll just have to deal with the truth, if and when it does come out."
"If?" Kate sighed. "I know you don't want to tell them anything now while you don't really have a say about your own life, but you will tell them the truth someday, won't you? You won't keep me a secret forever, right?"
"Of course not," Mark said. He didn't like the direction the conversation had turned but tried not to show his annoyance. "I will tell them everything. I just can't right now."
Kate remained quiet and then said, "I know."
She picked up one of her eggs. It was small and covered in blue foil with silver stars. She unwrapped it to reveal a solid piece of chocolate. She popped it in her mouth, glad for the small comfort chocolate gave her.
"Are you mad?" Mark gently asked her. He slipped his arm from her shoulders.
"No," Kate said. She looked up at him and offered him a small, sincere smile. "I'm really happy with you, I promise. I just wish things were different."
"I know, and I'm sorry for that."
"I know." Kate looked over her shoulder. "Felicia and Baltus are coming."
The amorous couple joined them a minute later. They looked flushed.
"What did McGonagall do to you?" Mark asked them.
"She lectured us on how we were acting inappropriately, and how there are guests at the school and little children at that, and that we should be setting a better example," Baltus said. "She also deducted five points from each of us!"
Mark scowled, even though Slytherin was on top at the moment.
"Have either of you seen Johanna or Gus?" Kate asked them.
"No," Felicia said with a giggle. "We've been busy."
"No family today?" Mark asked.
"My parents sent me an owl saying they were running late," Felicia said, "and his had planned on coming later," she said of Baltus. "What about you both?"
Mark and Kate shook their heads and said their parents weren't coming.
"Well, what have you got there?" Felicia asked, eyeing Kate's basket.
"What you could have gotten yourself had you not been too busy doing other things," Kate told her with a grin.
Felicia stuck her tongue out at Kate and then turned to Baltus to make out again. Mark and Kate looked at each other and then decided to move a few feet away, lest Professor McGonagall punish them by association.
Sparkly Pink
Author: Majandra
Date: 07-06-12 17:23
Yesterday, April 1st, had been George's and Fred's 28th birthdays. Majandra has often wondered if the pranksters' birthday falling on a date known by many as April Fool's Day is some cosmic joke. What was not a joke is that the conference the twins were attending ran through the weekend. Only after they'd committed to it, both of them rabidly thrilled about it, did they realize the actual dates. They made arrangements for everyone who wanted to come to Amsterdam for a celebratory birthday bash and then this morning after a breakfast at their conference, much to the delight of their combined total of seven children, they arrived back to attend the Hogwarts Easter egg hunt.
Three slightly overlapping picnic blankets forming a somewhat mishapen triangle, two bulging picnic baskets places there the three blanket corners intersect mark the spot on the grounds claimed by the George Weasley and the Fred Weasley clans. After the children carefully inspected for eggs, of course. With Miranda at 5 1/2 and Georgie just shy of his fourth birthday, Maj and George have their two in the section for the smaller children. Also around somewhere, but amazingly out of sight considering the whirlwind that is Larkin, Seth, Gideon, Freddie, and Fabian, are Blossom and Fred with their kids.
Georgie is just out of sight, for now, behind a bush searching for eggs with George helping. Maj is holding Miranda up to retrieve three eggs from a tree's branches. After carefully placing each in the basket adorned with sparkly, poofy pink tulle she'd picked out, Miranda asks, "How many now, Mummy?"
"How many did you just get?"
"Three."
"And how many did you already have?"
"You said twelve."
"Three plus twelve is fifteen."
"Is it time to open one? Pleeeeeeeease?" Miranda entreats.
At the start, Miranda had wanted to open each egg as she found it but after Maj had patiently explained that if she did that, Miranda might get less eggs, her daughter saw the wisdom in waiting until they return to the picnic blankets to see what prizes each egg holds. Knowing how eager Miranda is to see what's in each, that she held off for a total of fifteen before asking to open just one is nothing short of miraculous.
"Yes, one for now and then we will go find more."
Miranda selects an egg as sparkly pink as her basket, carefully breaking it in two. An equally sparkly pink child sized tiara glitters in the spring sunshine.
"LOOK! LOOK! PUT IT ON!"
Maj kneels in front of Miranda to position the tiara then out of a pocket brings a make-up compact with mirror so the child can admire herself for a moment before enthusiastically returning to the hunt, two more eggs already in her sights.