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Breakfast from an Egg?
Author: Valeria Mockridge
Date: 06-20-13 08:09
The egghunt idea was a new one for both Valeria and Petula, but the two girls had woken up excited to try something new, for a change. Cloris had sent baskets for each of the two as well as for Anton and Titus, promising that all four were equipped with anti-egg-nabbing charms and maybe a few other small protective measures. Valeria'd just laughed, her grandmother was prone to going overboard at times, especially when it came to her and her friends. The elder Mockridge had also included a few sweets from Honeyduke's for each of the four, since they weren't old enough yet to go and get their own.
Valeria wrinkled her nose as she went to get up, studying the egg that had been resting in the hand tucked under her pillow. Petula's voice had her glancing up at the darker girl.
"Seriously? You've already found one? It's barely breakfast time."
"It just appeared in my hand at some point," Valeria said with a shrug. She got up and stuck the egg into her basket for safe-keeping as both girls dressed quickly in some casual clothes and grabbed their baskets. Petula spotted a shiny, golden egg on a chair in the common room and grabbed it, quickly tucking it into her basket. "Maybe you should try out for Seeker next year, you might actually be able to catch the snitch," the blonde added with a smirk as the brunette laughed. Masculine laughter echoed as Anton joined them.
"She certainly can't do worse than the one we've got now." The three headed down to their favorite unused classroom in the dungeons, a spot they'd often used for studying when not in class so they could avoid the Common Commons and even their own Common Room when the cuddling couples became too obnoxious. A third egg rolled about, Merope quickly following it as Anton bent down to grab it. The kitten gave him a look that was clearly a pout, but instead of retaliating, she stalked back into the room, silvery tail twitching her displeasure as she headed for the kitty condo that had magically appeared when they started spending more time in there.
Unable to wait, Anton opened the egg and all three gasped when such a small egg revealed a full-sized racing broom. "So much for first years not being allowed to have their own," Valeria said with a snicker. "Not much they can do when you get it out of an Easter Egg."
Anton was too busy admiring his prize to answer so Petula opened hers instead, grinning when a table popped out, setting itself up in the middle of the room. Tea and pumpkin juice were set at four places, along with a variety of fairy cakes and sweets, a thoroughly unhealthy breakfast perfect for a Sunday morning. Valeria decided to leave hers for later, wanting to open all of hers together.
"An, why don't you put that broom in your room and get Titus to join us for breakfast? Then we can go find more eggs with the baskets Grandmother sent?" the blonde suggested. "I'll even put an anti-theft jinx on it if you want me to."
The Dark Side (Tamsin)
Author: Josie
Date: 06-20-13 12:49
"Hey, that's my egg!" Jack protested when Theon ripped the large egg from his hands.
"I saw it first," Theon said, trying to open the egg with a greedy look on his blue eyes.
Jack was thinking about getting the egg back, when he noticed the object inside the egg was porcelain doll. He laughed while Theon put the doll aside embarrassed. His eyes searched the field for more eggs. My brother had got some fine gifts already but he always wanted more.
It was Hogwarts annual Easter egg hunt and all my family was attending. Despite the fact they were all Muggles, they were allowed to be part of the activities and just because they didn't have a wand or knew much about how the wizarding world worked, we still had a great fun.
While Jack and Theon competed for the best prizes inside the eggs, Edwin just looked around fascinated.
He would always try to understand how magic worked, trying to associate it with the subjects he learned at school such as physics and sciences. Edwin wanted to find an explanation for magic and more than once during summer he had snatched my wand and tried to study it, like a real scientist. Most of the times he would end up frustrated because to him magic did not make any sense and he just did not understand why witches and wizards did not share it with Muggles, using their knowledge to improve everyone's lives.
I did the best I could to explain him, but Edwin was older and cleverer and at times his arguments were very strong. I would always end up saying 'It is what it is,' and walk away.
Calum was looking at a brunette 6th year witch from Hufflepuff, clearly checking her out.
"You don't have any chances," Theon said with malice, also noticing the way Calum was looking at the girl.
"Watch and learn, little brother," he replied and he stood up from the grass and went to the witch's encounter.
Theon seemed a bit frustrated and I could not help but to laugh.
Meanwhile my parents were talking with Penny Puckett's parents. Penny had been my friend since the first year. We had met during our first ride on the Hogwarts Express even before being sorted. Both her parents were wizards but they had no objecting in letting her daughter spending part of the summer with us. I noticed my father looked a bit preoccupied as Mr. Puckett handed him an exemplar of the Daily Prophet. I wondered what they might be talking about.
Penny joined Jack and Theon on the egg hunt. I sat on the grass next to Edwin who was also observing our parents.
"What do you think they are talking about?" I asked Edwin.
"At Valentine's day there was an attack at a French cafe in Birmingham. It was on the TV and everything. Same thing happened to a shop, the next day. News said it were two robberies, organized by the same gang. They used pistols and provoked the chaos. Some people died. "
"Well robberies happen all the time," I declared, but I couldn't help to feel bad about the victims.
"Yes. But this one was a bit odd, because none of the money from the cashier was taken. I mean who would rob something if in the end they run away without the money? And I read somewhere there would no bullet marks in the places. But no one really cared, they just talked about it once, it appeared on the newspapers and that was it. Until mum was opening an egg and she won an older version of the newspaper you witches and wizards read. I am still trying to understand how the photos are able to move by themselves, maybe some sort of fast hologram type of thing…"
Edwin was about to lose himself talking about holograms and other little details when I asked him to get to the point.
"Well, it happened that those attacks were also mentioned in the wizarding community. Mum commented it with dad and he went to ask Mr. Puckett what this meant."
I shivered. One of the first lessons I learned about magic was that for all the good things it could give us, there was also a dark side attached to it. It was very easy to jinx someone, to hurt them with a spell or poison them with a potion. But I tried to hide that side to my parents because I didn't want to worry them. Unfortunately by my father's expression it seemed that now he was learning a new thing or two about magic.
"Are you all right, Tamsin?" Edwin asked.
"Yes, of course," I stood up. "Come, let's join the others and catch some more eggs."
Edwin agreed and he also stood. As we went to meet with Jack, Theon and Penny I couldn't help to notice Calum cheerfully talking with the brunette witch near a tree.
A Slight Touch Of The Near East (Devon)
Author: Christopher Chant
Date: 06-20-13 14:53
Being a first year the Hogwarts Easter egg hunt is something new for Devon Abbott, though she has heard about past ones from her cousin Christopher Chant, from his girlfriend Catriona Amherst, and from a few older students in her own house of Hufflepuff. She'd still somehow forgotten to owl her parents asking for an Easter basket. Devon had ended up getting one of the school provided baskets and after having it keyed to her so only she could get eggs out of the basket, she'd put in the three she'd collected before ever getting outside.
The first, a pink and yellow striped, in the soap holder when she'd gone in to shower this morning. The second, which is a vivid orange with tiny green dots, was in her goblet when she'd gone to pour some juice in it this morning at breakfast. The third, one that's a pale, pale pink with a creamy lace pattern, Devon literally stumbled on when she'd returned to her room after deciding to change shoes. Crossing the Hufflepuff common room for the girls' dorm, she'd hit something with her foot and nearly tripped in the process. That something was the egg.
Devon had added it to her pocket with the other two, careful not to break them as she wasn't yet ready to see what prizes each held, the gone on to change into some comfortable loafers, better for traipsing around the grounds searching for more eggs. From there she'd gone straight out to the queue near the main doors for a school basket. Since then, Devon has acquired a goodly number of additional eggs and is currently trying to hoist herself into a tree where she's spotted two eggs nestled in the crooks of branches.
"Need help?"
Dangling from the lowest branch, from which she's trying to pull herself up far enough to grasp the next one, Devon looks down at fellow Hufflepuff first year and friend Duncan Dippet. "I thought I could do it on my own but I seem to be stuck. Give me a boost and you can have one of the eggs."
"Deal!" Duncan maneuvers so that Devon can put a foot on each of his shoulders and push herself up far enough to get that next branch. Once up, she can reach both the eggs, carefully depositing them in a pocket.
From below Duncan suggests, "Look around for more before you come down."
"Good idea."
After a moment Devon eases down, helped to the ground by Duncan. "Didn't see anything else," she tells him, pulling both eggs from her pocket. "Which do you want?"
Duncan studies both. One is very girly with a bright pink background and spangly red hearts. The other is decidedly more masculine with a plaid patter in different shades of medium ot dark blue. It's no surprised to Devon that Duncan chooses that one.
"Thanks. Opened any of yours yet?"
"No, I was thinking to get several more before I did that," Devon says with a wave of her hand in the direction of her basket. "Have you?"
"Just one so far."
"And?"
Duncan grins, holding out a foil wrapped chocolate to her. "It was loaded with some of those really expensive, imported sweets. Tiny little egg but I swear there was five pounds of candy in it. If not for the expansion charm on my Easter basket I would have had to make a trip back to my room already."
The two friends continue to talk a few minutes more, Duncan sharing a couple more pieces of the chocolate with Devon, talking about prizes they've seen yielded from the eggs of others. Their little break over, Duncan runs off in the direction of some bushes he wants to check and Devon moves around the tree she'd just climbed, in the process finding three more eggs scattered amongst the tree's extensive roots.
She walks along slowly, ignoring several first and second years who run past her at top speed, eyes scanning the ground for eggs. Reaching a little side bench, she searches around it, finding an egg on the ground in a hollow behind one of the back legs. This egg is smallish in size with a very ornate pattern that puts Devon in mind of some of the designs she saw on a holiday her family took to Turkey two years ago. The egg even has the aroma of some of the spices she remembers smelling in the markets they visited and on the food she tried.
Curious, Devon decides to go on and open this egg now. Cracking it apart, folds of silky fabric fall out. Gathering it up, she finds it's an embroidered robe in a style similar to some of the garb she'd seen in Turkey, or at least she thinks it is. There are matching slippers as well and though the robe and slippers look tiny, there is a slip of parchment to let her know that they will adjust to her size once she tries them on.
Folding the robe around the slippers, Devon adds them to her basket, thinking it's better to try the robe on when she's wearing pajamas or a night gown to get the best fit.
Checking the rest of the area around the bench, Devon moves along, scanning for anything that looks egg-like, and resisting the urge to open the other eggs she's found so far.
(Evelyn) Mirror, Mirror
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 06-21-13 03:58
The day was beautiful and everyone was excited. Everyone except Evelyn Steele.
Seated at her bed on the semi-dark dormitory, she contemplated the set of clothes meant for her to wear today that she selected a few days ago with enthusiasm. But now Evelyn didn't felt like taking off her pajamas and change clothes. She didn't want to see her parents or anyone at all. Maybe it would be better to just stay the entire day locked at the dormitory while everyone else was outside having fun.
With a deep sigh Evelyn looked at the mirror on the wall and touched her face. It was filled with acne and the vision of herself disgusted her.
This situation has been afflicted Evelyn since the start of the school year. What started to be one or two pimples, easily covered by her long black hair had turned into an uncountable number of them that was impossible to hide. In panic, Evelyn tried to use magic to fight the horrendous acne but things only got worse. She had even spent two days at the hospital wing but Madam Pomfrey did not cure her. She had told Evelyn she was a healer and she treated real injuries. If every student who had acne came to see her she would do nothing all day and then who would take care of those who really needed her? Stupid old witch, Evelyn had thought. She decided she would rather die than to see that woman again in case she got hurt.
Evelyn decided to go back to bed. Her bare feet stepped into something round and she stumbled. She avoided the fall by holding herself to one of the bed poles. She looked down and noticed a metallic blue egg with yellow dots on the floor. Not resisting to it, she picked up the egg and opened it, wondering what surprise it had reserved to her. Inside there was a large bar of chocolate.
"You idiot!" she protested, as if the egg could hear her. "I can't eat chocolate; it will make me look worse than I am now."
With another sigh she sat on the bed. The problem was not the pimples. Yesterday she had found out that her colleague, Vinny Xardel, had only accepted to go to the Valentine's dinner with her because of some stupid bet among the boys, about who would have the guts to invite the ugly Evelyn Steele out.
He had won several chocolate frogs cards, including a valuable one of Circe. It was her cousin Luke who told her, after she pressured him to talk. Edgar was too busy with stupid Quidditch to even notice what was going on between the other boys. Evelyn was furious Gryffindor had won the match against Ravenclaw yesterday.
There was another egg under the covers. It was orange. Evelyn just hoped it wasn't any more chocolate. She opened it and inside there was a beautiful hand mirror. It was made of silver and it had what it seemed to be sapphires encrusted to it. At first she wanted to throw the mirror away like she had done with the chocolates, but the object was very beautiful and it looked expensive.
Evelyn looked at her reflection in the mirror. If only she didn't have those awful pimples, she would be pretty!
She gasped. Her face on the mirror had changed. Her cheeks were clean from the acne. She looked beautiful again. Then Evelyn wondered what she would look like if she had blond hair. Suddenly her hair changed its color: it was now blond. But only the hair on the mirror, she noticed. Apparently this mirror showed how you wanted to look like. Evelyn changed her eyes color to green and even red. Then she thought about ivory skin and vampire fangs. She couldn't help to laugh.
She focused again on her image without any pimples. For a long time she did nothing but to stare at it, almost feeling that what she was seeing was real.
(Ravenscrofte Rare Books to Three Broomsticks) Running Late
Author: Cassandra Catesby
Date: 06-21-13 07:30
Kirley was late. Cassandra frowned, glancing once more at the clock - the hand seemed to be leaping forward every time she check - and then back at the door of her shop. She knew he had said he had some work to do before he picked her up to go to Hogwarts for the easter egg hunt, but he hadn't said he was going to be this late.
She was about to check the clock again for the umpteenth time when the doorbell chimed and a familiar dark-haired figure appeared.
"Where have you been?" she demanded. "You're late. No, make that we're late now. Nephele will be wondering where we are." They had arranged to meet up with Nephele - and, Cass suspected, Pip - outside the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade since it wasn't possible to apparate directly into the grounds of Hogwarts.
"I was chasing up a lead for how Rita Skeeter was getting her information," he said.
"And?" She took his arm. "No, wait, tell me in a minute. Hogsmeade first. It's not as if you're not going to have to explain to Nephele why you kept her waiting anyway."
They disapparated from the bookshop with, reappearing with a sharp crack outside the door of the Three Broomsticks. As she had expected, Nephele was already there.
"Blame his lordship for the delay," Cassandra said to her friend. She eyed Kirley. "Now, what's this about Skeeter?"
(The Three Broomsticks to Hogwarts ) On Their Way Through the Village
Author: Kirley Mockridge
Date: 06-21-13 09:42
Kirley glanced down at the ground before he looked over at Cass. His sister had that look in her eye, the one that made her resemble Cloris and Valeria in a snit. "I couldn't help it, it's one of those leads that might not pan out, but it might give me a way to stop Skeeter in her tracks. Or at least control her, to some extent," he protested.
Nephele's smile was sweetly poisonous. "Go on, you can tell us more as we walk," she said, slipping her arm through Pip's and turning a much sweeter and less dangerous smile up at him than the one she gave her brother.
Kirley sighed, he knew that look. If he didn't start talking, facing Cass' hexes would be kinder. He put his hand over Cass' on his arm and started to explain. "I haven't been able to find her sources inside the Ministry, despite every effort I've put out and even resorting to duplicitous means. So I thought perhaps I'd have more luck finding her sources for various other things and hoping they might lead me to the others. So far, it's come to nothing, but I still had to follow up on it and it took a bit longer than I anticipated. Especially when I found Mother had been in touch with her. You know Mother, if she sees it as a means to an end, she'll even resort to using Skeeter, despite her dislike for her."
Nephele nodded. "Yes, and Mother's been frustrated that McGonagall has been ignoring the questions from the Governors about some of the truth behind the articles. Most of them aren't concerning in themselves, but some of them are, especially the ones that Skeeter's not printed yet. However, today is far too nice a day to be worrying about that," she said, glancing up toward the sky and then at the three others with her. "So we shall make our way up to the school and enjoy a nice afternoon with Valeria and her friends, since I don't believe Arsenius or his wife will make it here to see Petula and I do not know if the Averies were planning to see Anton, and I know Tiberius rarely makes it to any events to see Titus, Valeria's mentioned that much."
Pip turned a grin on Nephele. "What, no time in that schedule for slipping off into corridors and snogging?" he teased, earning a hint of a blush and a laugh from the blonde.
"I didn't make time for that in school, why would I now?" she teased back. Her eyes lit up with the banter and her hand tightened on his arm, her way of telling him that she might not mind slipping off when they were somewhere a bit more private.
Kirley bent his head and murmured in Cass' ear, "Slipping off into deserted corridors for a snog sounds like more fun."
Carters and Eggs
Author: Cai Pembroke Carter
Date: 06-21-13 12:12
All four Carters at Hogwarts had woken to Easter baskets this morning filled with goodies both large and small - edible and otherwise. Each basket had been customized to each of the four children.
Cai's was the color of a golden snitch due to her role in winning the Quidditch match yesterday for Gryffindor and in it was a pair of goggles and gloves for Quidditch, as well as some various sweets and even a signed poster from the British National team that she hadn't gotten yet.
Broderick's basket was filled with enchanted disks that played full albums of his favorite Wizarding World bands, and a signed Cassandra's Orb poster. His basket also held various sweets and was in crimson and gold for the Gryffindor colors.
Angharad's basket was in Hufflepuff colors and filled with a new blank journal for her writing, as well as a special new quill and ink for it. There were also her favorite sweets.
Aderyn's basket was in Ravenclaw colors with a black accent to mimic the color of a bludger since she was one of the beaters on her house team. Within her basket were enchanted disks that played music from the The Wicked Wizards of the West, Cleaver, and Killed by a Curse, her three favorite bands. There was a signed t-shirt from each band - how her parents had managed she didn't know, but she loved all of them.
That had been what each of them had woken up to. Perla, Eric, and Driz had all woken up to small gifts of their own from the Carters, who would not be making it to the Easter Egg hunt this time, but would see everyone during the holiday after this week was finished.
As far as the hunting of Easter Eggs, Cai had found one on her pillow, one in each of her shoes, and one was slipped in to the pocket of the denim skirt she'd chosen to wear outside. None of them were open yet, but they wouldn't last much longer. Then there was also the one that had been in her juice cup, and one in her cereal bowl at breakfast. Her basket had about a dozen or so eggs in it already, and she was currently finishing hunting around a clump of bushes that had already yielded four eggs and as she rounded the last corner saw a nest like structure that was filled with three more: one was almost ostrich egg sized, while the others were more the size of chicken eggs and all of them were robin's egg blue. Eventually, she would make it back to the blanket where the seven of them had agreed to meet.
After retrieving two eggs up a tree Broderick dropped down to the grass and put the eggs in his basket - which thanks to the expanding charm was holding up well to the nearly two dozen eggs that filled it. He'd found an egg tucked in with his toiletries this morning when he'd gone to take a shower, another one in the pocket of his robe, and by the time he'd gotten back to his room, there was one sitting on his pillow, and there had also had been one tucked in the bottom of Jameson's cage.
Angharad was currently hunting with Perla and between the two of them had found a decent amount of eggs and were currently heading back toward the blanket where the group would meet and begin opening up their eggs to find out what treasures were tucked within.
"I want to open one now, before we get back to the blanket.." Perla said, pulling an egg out of her basket. It was a shimmery purple with bright shimmering stars on it. "It's pretty. I wonder what's in it." She cracked the egg and out fluttered a piece of parchment.
"This certificate entitles you, a guest, and guardian to attend a series on the Mysteries of Stonehenge. Room and board included in this voucher. Please respond by owl to reserve your spot for the week long event."
Perla blinked and grinned. "Guess we are going to Stonehenge this summer." She leaned over and gave Angharad a light kiss as they headed to the blanket.
Aderyn was currently sitting on a bench after managing to find about twenty-six or so eggs that were currently sitting in her basket at her feet. She was trying to figure out if she was going to open one now, or wait until she was with everyone else at the blanket before she started opening eggs.
It took her all of five seconds to decide if she was going to open an egg or not. One of the eggs was lifted from the top of her basket and she studied the intricate lace-like pattern that decorated the lemon yellow egg. She cracked the egg and a shimmery bit of sapphire silk slipped out along with a pair of slippers that matched. Unfolding it, she saw that it was a very pretty sari and matching slippers for it. There had also been a notice that said the item would fit her perfectly after the first time she tried it on.
Tucking the garment into her basket, along with the slippers, she headed to the blanket to meet the rest of the group.
Hummingbirds And Bunnies
Author: Julian Valentine
Date: 06-21-13 15:01
An eye on Xavier, Julian crouches by his niece slash adopted daughter. "What have you got, Jasmine?"
The not quite 22 month old holds up a hummingbird size egg that she'd just tested with her mouth. There must be something on the smaller eggs to make them taste bad so the little ones don't try to eat them because Jazz has made a face that including puckering her mouth and sticking her tongue out several times. It's actually comical enough that Julian wouldn't mind if someone got a picture of it but there's no one in the immediate vicinity with a camera and with the twins and their baskets and other paraphernalia he didn't think he could manage a camera as well. Briar has one but she's over in the section for the 6 through 10 year olds with Grace.
Julian accepts the egg from Jasmine, turning his head for a moment to check on Xavier again even as the toddler before him instructs, "Ope," which is her version of open.
He holds the egg out to her. "Do you want to open it or do you want me to."
Jazz's response is to pucker her mouth again before grinning and snatching the silver and black egg back. He has to help her but she's mostly able to get it on her own, perhaps because being such a small egg it's easier for her to grip. She gives a squeal of delight and claps her hands together even though the eggshell is still in them when a colorful hummingbird much larger than the egg emerges and begins darting about her body.
At first Julian worries that the hummingbird's beak might pose a problem as it appears sharp but closer inspection shows that the entire bird is plush and perfectly safe for a toddler. He should have realized that unsafe toys and items wouldn't be in any of the eggs meant for the smaller children.
While Jasmine tries to catch the hummingbird whirling here and there around her, spinning around in the process and getting dizzy in her delight, Julian goes to corral Xavier. This nephew slash adopted son has been gleefully chasing a fuzzy brown and white toy bunny that had come from one of his eggs. Just as Xavier gets close enough to grab it, the rabbit hops just around of reach.
Julian stops the bunny for a moment, putting his hand on its back as he asks Xavier, "Do you want to look for more eggs now or keep playing?"
The boy's face screws up in serious consideration of the question. He's have lots of fun with the rabbit but he knows that more eggs means more things to play with. He reaches out to pet the bunny as it wiggles under Julian's hand and rather seriously pronounces, "Ig."
"More eggs it is. Let's get Jazz and go over this way, okay?"
Julian picks up the bunny, grabs the two Easter baskets up, then goes to retrieve the hummingbird, Xavier already ahead of him with Jasmine close behind, both of them doing a funny bent over walk as they search the ground for more eggs.
Splish Splash (Caerwyn)
Author: Julian Valentine
Date: 06-21-13 17:30
Caerwyn flops down on the ground, careful not to spill his eggs from his Easter basket. It might have one of those anti-theft charms on it but that doesn't make it spill proof by his own hand. As Gus takes a spot on the ground near him Caerwyn announces, "I'm hungry again."
"Yeah, me too."
"I have some candy from that red egg but I want something more than that. Want to go see what Briar brought in her picnic basket?"
"Sounds good to me even if it means having to get up when I just sat down."
Caerwyn gives an amused snort pointing out as he does, "You sound like an old man."
Gus sticks his tongue out and grins, "I just don't see why we sat down, or in your case collapsed on the ground, if we were just going to get right back up.
"Still sounds like an old man." Caerwyn pauses to retrieve a egg so hotly pink it's a wonder it doesn't burn his corneas. "Think I should take a girly colored egg?"
"Don't see why not. If might not be a girly prize and even if it is, you can trade or give it away." Gus holds up one from his own basket. "That's why I picked this one up." This one is the shade of peach one might find decorating a girl's room or someone's parlor and it has little blue ribbons dotting it. "This one definitely has to be something for a girl but I thought if it's a really good prize, I could set it aside for one of my cousin's birthdays or my mum, or maybe even a girl I want to impress."
"Would that be Ramona Mickle?"
Gus colors slightly. "I don't know what you mean."
"Suuuuuure."
Caerwyn is nice and doesn't tease Gus overly much. Instead, he speculates what might be inside a couple of the eggs he's collected and Gus does the same. Along the way to Briar's picnic basket the continue looking for eggs, stopping only when the cross out of the areas designated for their ages. As they approach the blanket Briar had spread out Caerwyn realizes he's still holding the last egg he'd picked up.
Despite its egg shape the egg gives the illusion of a conch shell shape, complete with swirled markings to enhance the effect. It even gives that sound of the ocean effect if held to the ear. Gus guesses, "Scuba gear like in some of the Muggle Studies pictures."
Caerwyn shrugs. "That's a possibility but it's probably just some swim trunks and an invitation to some swanky pool somewhere."
"Like that would be such a bad thing."
Laughing, Caerwyn agrees. "Since we're taking a break, I'll open this one now."
Caerwyn pulls the egg apart only to be splashed as if a wave is coming in. Water dripping from him, Gus snickering. Caerwyn pulls out a scroll. Unrolling it, turning this way and that just to bug Gus from being able to read over his shoulder, Caerwyn scans the elaborate script written on the parchment.
He stops moving and thrusts the scroll at Gus, eyes twinkling and a grin from ear to ear. "How would you like to go with me on TerrorTours Dive To Atlantis trek?"
"Bloody excellent!"
Sitting on the blanket, helping themselves to some sandwiches and drinks, Gus and Caerwyn reread the scroll, talking animatedly about when in summer they might be able to schedule going, and decide to open a couple of eggs each before getting back to collecting even more prize-filled eggs.
Reasons To Prefer A Wizarding Egg Hunt To A Muggle One (Mason)
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 06-21-13 19:07
Adding an egg marbled with primary colors to give it a tie dyed appearance to his basket Mason looks around to make sure he's not missed any. He's found, though, that even when someone's scoured a spot and gotten all the eggs in evidence, a few minutes later that same person or someone else is likely to find another egg, or more, in that same general area. He thinks that with so many out hunting for eggs, even though the grounds are extensive, there's some spell that has eggs periodically appearing, maybe in random spots maybe not, so that throughout the day students, the professor's kids, and visitors are able to continue finding eggs. Otherwise, this thing would most likely be over fairly quickly.
Nearby, Boris Samson picks up an egg that looks too big to be even an ostrich egg but the way he easily handles it suggests it's feather light. He jokes, "Watch, this bleedin' huge egg will have something like a little tie tack or a decorative thimble."
"Good thing you collect decorative thimbles then."
"Funny."
"I do my best."
Mason stretches to reach a metallic copper colored egg from where it's sitting on the knot of a tree trunk. He hasn't bothered counting how many he's collected but a glance into the basket as he adds this newest indicates he's got a fair amount. Boris too from what Mason can tell.
So far he's resisted opening any but Boris has cracked three eggs for their prizes. Mason decided he'd rather spend the time collecting as many eggs as possible given that he has the whole evening to open the eggs and as long as they are in his basket, no one can pilfer any. That's one thing Mason loves about these Hogwarts Easter egg hunts. No one can get sneaky and try to take an egg or two, or more, from someone else's basket if the opportunity comes up. Mason well remembers an egg hunt when he was about 4 when he knew he'd had ten eggs collected only to put his basket down to fetch an egg from the top of a bush and have only seven eggs when he went to put that one in. There was only one other kid around and when Mason did what any four year old would do and tattled, the girl's mum swore up and down she was with her child when she collected each and every one of the eggs in the girl's basket. As several knew this was not true but couldn't think of a way to call the woman a liar without causing even more of a scene, Mason found himself out three eggs and that girl got away with it. His mum tried to make up for it later but Mason wasn't overly appeased and to this day he does not like Allison Jones from two house down from his mum's.
Another thing Mason likes about the Hogwarts Easter egg hunts over ones from his Muggle life before he knew a place such as Hogwarts even existed is that those hunts the eggs were either real eggs that were hard boiled and dyed, and only fun to collect if you really wanted to have a basketful of hard boiled eggs to eat for days or make egg salad or something else from, or the eggs were plastic and filled with a few pieces of candy such as foil wrapped chocolate coins or jelly beans or a shilling or two. Some even had only a single pence. Small kids loved even that much but the older they got, the more they realized what a letdown that is.
Boris over to where Mason is on his stomach, reaching far under a bush for two eggs. "I've decided to open another one."
Crawling out from the bush and getting up, Mason asks as he puts the two new additions into his basket, "Yeah? Which one?"
"This I just found. I think it's something Quidditch related."
Mason looks at the egg his friend is holding. It's a regular hen egg and he can see why Boris might think the prize inside has something to do with Quidditch. There are gold snitches fluttering all over the egg. Or maybe it's just one snitch flitting really fast. Mason can't really tell. "You hoping for a broom?"
"Yeah, but Quidditch Con tickets would be fantastic or one of those fantasy camp weeks with a pro team."
Boris sets his basket down so he can open the egg using both hands. He pulls it and much like a plastic egg would, it splits around the middle. There's a flash of light and once bright spots from it have cleared from their eyes, they see a trunk at Boris's feet. It looks very much like the type of trunk that holds the four balls used in a Quidditch match. Sure enough, when Boris opens the trunk there is a brand spanking new Quidditch ball set inside.
"Cooooool," Boris utters, fingers going to touch each of the balls. After a minute of them both admiring the ball set, Boris closes the trunk and bends to pick it up. "Help me get this into my basket."
Holding Boris's basket still so that his friend can work the trunk into it, Mason thinks of a third reason to like these egg hunts over the Muggle ones he's participated in: extension charms on the baskets to help hold all the prizes from these magic eggs.
Sophie, not Sophia
Author: Sophie McCourt
Date: 06-22-13 13:24
Sophie had been hunting eggs alongside with Caleb. Both their families watched from a distance but no one seemed inclined in participating alongside the children.
Sophie didn't mind: She didn't want to walk around the grounds followed by Honoria Flannery, her father's fiancée. Honoria was wearing a set of pale yellow robes and she didn't seem very adapted to the outdoors. She would walk carefully in the grass as if she could step into a hole at anytime and she hid herself from the sun under a tree, complaining that it would ruin her complexion.
However, she dropped the complaints when she met Caleb's stepfather. Nigel Barker was a famous photographer in the wizarding fashion industry and of course Honoria knew all about him. While the two of them spoke about Nigel's work, Caleb's mother ,Tilda, was talking with Sophie's father, Ian McCourt. Both of them were looking at their children with pride and so it was obvious what they were talking about.
Caleb and Sophie returned from the field with their baskets filled with eggs. The adults observed as they started to open the eggs. Caleb's first egg contained a black umbrella.
"An interesting item," Nigel said, picking it up and studying it carefully. "People used these a lot in the past."
"They still use it now, darling," Caleb's mother pointed out and everyone laughed.
"It's not a simple umbrella. It's a flying one."
"A what?" Sophie and Caleb asked at the same time.
"You hold it and it flies. But it's very slow and not very practical, especially in sunny days. Muggles started to become suspicious. There is a Muggle movie based on these," he told, giving it back to Caleb. "About a nanny named Mary Poppins who had a flying umbrella just like this one."
Sophie had no idea what Mr. Barker was talking about but she thought about asking Estine about it later tonight. She then picked up a middle sized egg and opened in. Inside there was a headband with a blue bow. Sophie put it on, only to find out the bow would change its color from time to time. Not only it had plain colors, but there were also patterns such as poker dots and stripes.
"That thing is dreadful, Sophia. Please take it off," Honoria demanded.
"It's Sophie. Not Sophia," she corrected Honoria, feeling furious.
The girl looked at her father waiting for instructions. She refused to do what Honoria asked of her. She was not her mother. Unfortunately her father agreed with his fiancée and Sophie was forced to remove the hair band, with reluctance. She just didn't make a scene because of Caleb and his family. She was sure her father didn't really care if she used or not the hair band. He was just supporting Honoria's cause.
"Why don't you open this one? It's huge!" Caleb asked, trying to cheer her up. It seemed that the adults had started to talk between each other again, leaving the two friends alone.
"That's your egg, not mine."
"Well I want you to keep it."
"How about we open it together?" she suggested and he agreed.