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Double Date
Author: Carys
Date: 09-22-13 14:36
Jade Garden was crowded, and little wonder, it being a Saturday night. Carys and Griffin met Juliet and Jude just outside the restaurant and were thankful they had made reservations. Otherwise, they would have had to do quite a bit of waiting before getting a table.
They were seated in a cramped corner and after listening to the specials, picked up their menus for perusal. Carys liked sushi, but she didn't love it. Finding something else to eat would be her preference, but if the other selections weren't to her liking, then she would go with the unagi. Eel had never been on the top of her list of exotic foods to eat, but it turned out she actually found it the most flavorful of any type of sushi.
She decided on udon soup and lowered her menu to look across the table at Juliet and Jude. They had only been dating for a couple of weeks now. They exuded new love, with their heads bent close together and their fingers linked. They were probably playing footsies under the table, too.
As if sensing she was being watched, Juliet looked up and smiled at Carys. "I'm glad you invited us out to dinner," she said.
"Me too. I really wanted us to double," Carys replied. "It's been ages since I've seen Jude, and I think we all have a lot of catching up to do."
"Definitely," Jude replied, grinning. "I can't believe you got married."
He didn't say anything about how he couldn't believe she'd had a child, since that had been the big scandal that had gotten Carys expelled from Hogwarts all those years ago. Everyone who had been there with her at the time knew the story, though everyone had also assumed that a different classmate than Griffin had been the baby's father.
Juliet asked, "Do you think you'll have more children?"
Carys and Griffin exchanged smiles. Tristan often asked for a sibling, especially lately. His parents were both willing to have another, maybe even more than one, but Carys really wanted to get her schooling finished and open up her business once and for all. She was still young and still had time to have more children.
"Yes, I think so," Carys answered for them both. "When the time is right."
Tristan was at home with Alun. He had wanted to go out to dinner with his parents and didn't quite understand the concept of a double date. Carys had promised to bring him dessert, though she hoped he would be in bed before she and Griffin returned home.
"So, Jude," Griffin began, "what did you study at St. Emrys and do you have a job?"
Jude cleared his throat and said, "I studied engineering. I haven't yet found a job, but I'm hoping to join the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. I'm very interested in how things work. Problem is, the screening in intensive enough for any Ministry position, as I'm sure you well know. The Department of Mysteries has an extremely high clearance requirement. I've already had someone tell me that having the last name Fairchild is a mark against me."
"That's bullocks!" Juliet exclaimed. "It's just a name and doesn't mean anything."
Carys gasped. "That's awful. You're not even related to her, are you?"
"Probably to some degree, but I don't know. I wish I could say my dad's side of the family is the Muggle side, but it's not."
"I think a proper background check, whether you're related or not, should clear things up for you," Griffin said. "If who your relations are were that much of a deciding factor when it came to employment, then a lot of us would be without a job, myself included."
Carys nodded. "I don't think your name will be what doesn't get you to job if that's indeed what ends up happening."
"But you're going to get the job!" Juliet insisted, squeezing Jude's hand. "I know it!"
"Thanks," he said, smiling at her. They gazed at each other with big, lovestruck eyes, seeming to forget for a moment that they were sharing a table with two other people.
This was soon remedied when a waiter came over and took their orders.
(Asher) Sorry End to His First Year
Author: Jolyon
Date: 09-22-13 16:31
Being the absolute losing house was not how Asher wanted to end his first school year at Hogwarts. He was not amused by the yellow and black banners decorating the Great Hall, nor did he think "those nice Hufflepuffs" deserved any of their wins. Bad enough they'd won the Quidditch Cup, but the House Cup on top of it too? No fair!
At least his sister's house hadn't won. That would have been the worst! Gryffindor had also wound up on the lower end of the house points standings, though Arielle's house wasn't in dead last. Asher already imagined her rubbing in the fact that Gryffindor had at least done better than Slytherin. She better not, though, or things just might get ugly.
He angrily dug into his cheesy mashed potatoes, hardly able to taste how delicious every bit of his meal was. He was just that annoyed.
Malden, who normally agreed with Asher when it came to how inferior the other houses were to their own, was strangely quiet. Asher, like everyone else, had read the article about Professor McGonagall in the morning's newspaper. He still thought the exposure of his birth father took the cake compared to the other articles Rita Skeeter had written, but then the article on Professor Kent had been kind of personal. Maybe Malden was quiet because he was reeling from what he'd read about his own relatives.
Asher glanced up at the High Table, where Professor McGonagall sat front and center. Professor Kent was several chairs off to the left. It suddenly occurred to Asher that his father was Deputy Head of Ravenclaw House, the second place winner in terms of both house points and Quidditch points. Even his father's house had bested Slytherin, which seemed worse than Arielle's house doing better than Asher's own.
Asher scowled and thought about how much he didn't want to visit his father this summer. He knew he didn't have a choice, but maybe he could fake an illness or temporarily run away from home. Maybe Malden would take him in during that time. He turned to his friend to pose the question, but the words never left his lips. The expression on Malden's face was somewhat frightening, and Asher really didn't know what to make of it.
Instead, he turned back to his plate and shoveled more food in his mouth, silently stewing over a great many things.
A Hard Year
Author: Celeste Quigley
Date: 09-23-13 07:45
So far, Celeste had been doing a good job avoiding the Cornish pasties displayed on a golden tray right in front of her. She had made a deal with herself where she would pay attention to what she was eating during the main course, whereas when desert came she would allow herself to eat more than one chocolate éclair.
Lately she has been concerned with her line, because summer was here and she would not be able to do her daily climb to the Astronomy tower anymore, which was her chosen way to exercise. Not to mention she was hoping to wear a swimsuit.
"Gravy?" Severus tempted her, with malice.
"No, thank you."
"It was a hard year, Celeste. It is understandable that you might use food as an escape."
"You are an evil man," she told him, deliberately ignoring the gravy he was presenting her.
Instead, Celeste served herself with more peas and carrots. Vegetables were something she could eat without feeling she was ruining her line.
She couldn't help to think that Severus was right, that overall this school year hasn't been one of the best. Her first year as assistant Head of the Slytherin House was marked by not a single victory on a Quidditch match and the last place in terms of house points. Of course her house's performance was not Celeste's fault, but she could not help to feel a bit responsible for it. Naturally, to have a winner there had to be one or more losers and this year the ultimate defeat had happened to the Slytherin house. Celeste, just like Severus, was feeling somewhat humiliated and she just hopped next year this situation wouldn't be repeated.
But that was not everything. Almost the entire school staff had been the target of Rita Skeeter's poisonous words. Celeste herself had the right to have one entire page about her person, where Skeeter described her has a witch who was not able to accept her blood status and so she would take false identities to pretend to be who she was not and to steal other people's husbands.
The students read The Daily Prophet and so did their parents. Many owls had been sent to the school by concerned parents and of course even knowing Skeeter's articles were false, it was hard for everyone to walk around the castle and do their job as if nothing had happened.
The last target had been Minerva and Celeste had almost choked herself in her morning tea when an owl brought her the newspaper. She wondered when it would be the time to cancel her subscription and start reading something else.
Celeste tried to think about more delightful topics, but at the moment her mood was down. She glanced at the Cornish pasties and she served herself with one. She promised herself that in exchange she would not have a second chocolate éclair.
(Raz Kohen) Tikvah (Jerusalem, Israel)
Author: Rylee
Date: 09-23-13 13:46
"Raz, I'm scared."
Those words alone were enough to ensure that we found someway to survive this hell. My little sister didn't need to be scared, didn't need to have to face this nightmare ever. She should be playing with dolls, not hiding and waiting for bombs to stop hitting our city, threatening to ruin our home and our family. We should be getting ready for school, not cowering in fear as bombs explode around us and there is gunfire in the streets.
"Shhh tateleh...."
I attempt to soothe her, keep her quiet as possible as we remain hidden in the room where we are supposed to be when things like this happen. I try very, very hard to keep from her the fact that I am just as afraid as she is. We had ran from the table with only a few bites of food that we could carry, and we had barely gotten into the 'safe' room before all hell broke lose.
"Raz...its too quiet..do you think we can go out?"
I shook my head. I was not eager to step foot out of that room – knowing what lay beyond it, knowing what I would find in the rubble of what used to be our house. I did not want my sister to see the broken, bloody, mutilated bodies of our parents and grandparents. She did not need to see them like that, she did not need to see how they suffered. It was bad enough that I would have to explain to her that we were now orphaned.
"Not yet tateleh, but soon. It may be quiet, but that does not mean that things are safe, things are good for us to be out there."
She whimpered softly, and curled into me, clinging to her stuffed rabbit that she'd had since the day she was born. It was the first gift that I'd ever given her. I heard her soft sobs as she curled herself into me, clinging beneath the blanket, and I ran my hand over her head, humming softly one of her favorite lullabies, encouraging her to get some rest. I would rest when we were finally somewhere safe, once she had drifted off I went to the corner of the room, using the lantern and opened the lock box that had the information.
There was information on how to contact the Israel Ministry of Magic, and we needed to go there. Mama and Papa had left us information as well as money to try and get somewhere safe. I looked through the information in the lock box, apparently we were to have the ministry contact a couple in London, Mary and Elijah Marks. They were friends of my parents and they would hopefully be able to take us in.
I have no idea how long I'd been reading, how long I'd been going through that information, but by the time that I came back to reality – it was quiet out and I pushed myself upward and turned to see if Etana was still sleeping, and met her eyes instead.
"What are you doing Raz?" She asked, as she pushed herself up and came over to lean against me, resting her head on my shoulder.
"Looking at the information that is here for us if something happened..." I said softly, wrapping my arms around her and holding her against me. "We have to leave soon, to try and get to the Ministry of Magic and get out of here before the bombs stop going off again."
Etana nodded her head, swallowing nervously. "I don't want to go up there. I don't want to see what happened, but I know I have to if we are going to go somewhere safe."
I took a deep breath and nodded my head. "I don't want to see it, I don't want you to see it either but we need to. We may not be able to give them a proper burial, but we will mourn for them Etana, and never forget what happened this day."
Etana nodded her head lightly and clung to me tightly. "The quicker we go, the quicker we will be some where safe right brother?"
I nodded, and quickly put the paperwork back in the lockbox, a touch of my wand to activate the charm on it. "Grab your bag, make sure your wand is in it Etana, we cannot leave anything here for the muggles to find when we leave. Everything else has been charmed to disintegrate if the house is damaged by mortar fire."
Etana nodded and raced to her bag, checking to make sure her wand is tucked in there amongst her clothes. "It's here as is everything else that I need. Can we go now please?"
I tapped the lock box and shrunk it down into something lighter and more manageable, before shoving it into a pocket of my duffel, and slung it over my shoulder, holding a hand out for my sister. "Let's go, I want to be at the Ministry before it gets too late."
Etana slipped her hand into mine and quickly cast a quick glance around our hiding spot, and we headed over to the stairs. Pressing up on the trapdoor, I fought with it, until it finally gave and I could push it up, shoving debris off to the side and ducking off to the side as some rained down on us. "Ready?"
She tilted her head lightly and nodded, and we soon pushed upward into what remained of our house. The shocking reality of what had happened earlier this afternoon slammed down on us – as we once again realized that we were the only survivors our family had.
I felt Etana hesitate as we reached the top of the steps and looked around. "Just look straight ahead tateleh, do not look anywhere else. Focus on me as we can get away from the foundation of the house."
"Okay..."
Translations:
Tikvah - hope
Tatelah - little darling
Conversation
Author: Ethan Somerset
Date: 09-23-13 18:12
Ethan sat next to Viktor at the High Table and turned the base of his glass this way and that with his fingers. He had eaten his fill of the main meal and was now taking it easy before the dessert course.
"Do you have any plans for the summer, Ethan?" Viktor asked, putting down his utensils and leaning back in his chair, apparently also finished eating for the time-being.
"Other than scheduling play dates for Lilly and perhaps spending a little time with my family in Bristol, nothing at all," Ethan replied. "I plan to relax!"
Although taking Lilly somewhere far away from Britain had its appeal, Ethan thought they might just lie low instead. Nero Noir had not made any sort of contact in ages, but he was still out there. To make the claim that Ethan would relax all summer long was somewhat of a fib. As long as Nero and others like him were out there, and as long as Lilly needed protecting, Ethan could never truly relax.
"Does your family have her tonight?" Viktor asked. "Lilly, I mean."
"Aveline does. She's keeping her overnight."
"Her first time away from home?"
"No," Ethan said, "but between the two of us, I think it's still hard for me. I'm so used to having her around at night that it's strange when I wake up and realize she's not in the other room."
"That's called being a father," Viktor remarked. He looked out at the sea of faces and sought out Marjani at the Gryffindor table. She was laughing with her friends about something.
Ethan followed his gaze and said, "A graduate already. Time flies."
"Yes. Next it will be Lilly's turn."
Ethan laughed. "Not yet."
The topic returned to the subject of Marjani and her brother Zuberi, who were both graduating. Ethan asked Viktor what their plans were post Hogwarts. Viktor filled him in, concluding just in time for the dessert dishes to begin appearing on the table.
Dating Plans
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 09-24-13 08:06
The environment at the Slytherin table was charged frustration and rage. But as the feast progressed and the stomachs started to become filled with the excellent food coming from the kitchens, the mood became lighter. The noise was intense as everyone chatted with their friends cheerfully about the summer.
"So who will you take this year to the Emrys Fest?" Felicia asked Johanna, taking advantage of a moment when Gus and Mark were distracted talking with each other and Baltus had his mouth stuffed with roasted chicken.
"I don't know. Maybe no one," she replied shrugging her shoulders.
"You must go with someone! How about Caerwyn Valentine? You told me you had fun with him last year…"
Johanna took a glance at the Hufflepuff table, where Caerwyn was having his meal next to his friend Gus Hodfuffer.
"I don't think so."
During the year she didn't speak with Caerwyn at all and she honestly didn't want to invite him again for the festival. The last thing she wanted to do at the moment was to go on a date with a Hufflepuff and Johanna had no idea what Caerwyn would think of her if she asked him out again. Maybe that she was desperate, or that she had feelings for him.
"Well, there must be someone in this room you would like to go out with."
Johanna's head turned immediately to Gus. But then she disguised the gesture by pretending she was looking around the Slytherin table for possible candidates. She had been able to put her feelings towards Gus behind her back, but at times she still wished he would look at her the way he now looked at Joanna Porter from Ravenclaw. It was no secret they were in a relationship, but it seemed like they didn't make it official. However, most of Gus' admirers had already lost their hopes of having a chance with him and they had moved on to their next idol. The resistant ones would trash Joanna Porter on her back.
Her brown eyes landed on Taran Tremaine who apparently was eating alone. He didn't speak to anyone and his attention was exclusively turned to the food he had on his plate. But, as if sensing he was being watched, he looked up and their eyes met.
Johanna turned her head away, and looked at the enchanted ceiling as if suddenly after five years in the school she had finally realized how beautiful it was.
This reaction did not pass unnoticed to Felicia:
"Of course! Why didn't I think of it before? You should ask Taran!"
Johanna promised to think about it and the subject was dropped because Mark and Gus' attention shifted to them and of course they were not going to talk about dates and boys in front of them. While the conversation proceeded, Johanna risked a look back at Taran. He had seemed to have move on to the dessert and he was now putting some cinnamon on his apple pie.
The truth was the encounter at Valentine's day had not been the only time they had kissed. Johanna had found Taran's lips to be more relaxing than the Calming Drought Madam Pomfrey gave to the nervous students. It was not something planned and it just happened a few times while Gus was snoring on his armchair late at night in the Slytherin common room, and Johanna and Taran were finishing revising. Or that time at the library between the shelves of the book section related with geology and the study of magical minerals and rocks.
Johanna could count with the fingers of her hands those moments and she had told no one about it, mainly because she couldn't define herself what was going on. Whenever they finished a kissing session they would depart in silence and they didn't speak to each other about it. Now the school was over and she would probably see Taran again next year. Unless she invited him to go to the St. Emrys Fest, or maybe who knows, he might invite her.
Someone called her name and she realized that Mark was asking her a question. Johanna stopped thinking about Taran and she focused once again on the conversation that was taking place.
(Berthold) Transport
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 09-24-13 19:14
The white bus flies over the dark sea. From his position at the window, Berthold sees a few specks of light down below from the ships in the water. Stars speckle the heavens, but despite the bright lights both on the sea and in the sky, the night is very dark.
Berthold is not the only wizard on the bus, but he is the only one in shackles. Besides the driver, there are two aurors on the bus, the same two who were assigned to interrogate him when he was first taken into Ministry custody. Savage sits towards the front of the bus, while Proudfoot sits in the very last seat.
Although he does not wear a watch, Berthold guesses he is somewhere around the halfway point of his journey. Then again, he has no idea how quickly the bus can travel. Does it move as slowly as a Muggle airplane, or is it much faster? Whatever the case may be, soon Berthold will land in the Netherlands and stand trial for crimes committed over sixty years ago.
The bus flies on without incident for several more minutes, when a thump on the roof draws everyone's attention. Both Savage and Proudfoot rise from their seats, wands at the ready, and look up at the curved metal ceiling. Berthold also raises his eyes to the ceiling.
A heavy pause follows, and then the window next to Proudfoot shatters. Before he can react, a blast of light hits him squarely in the chest, sending him backwards into the opposite seat. His head hits the metal wall, knocking him unconscious. Savage runs down the aisle, gaze darting at the windows he passes in an attempt to see their attacker, but it's too dark.
Suddenly, the door at the front of the bus blasts open. The driver jerks the steering wheel in surprise, causing the vehicle to swerve and everyone in it to slide to the left. Berthold, who is sitting on the right side of the bus, tumbles into the aisle. Savage lands in the seat next to the large emergency window. It breaks and glass showers him where he lies. He gets up and starts to turn and face the window, when a pair of arms reach in and yank him out of the bus.
Berthold awkwardly climbs to his feet. At first he sees nothing, and then he sees Johann Freitag's face through the broken window. Johann smiles at him.
"Greetings, friend," he says.
The bus is soon boarded by Johann and his associates, some of whom are as old as he, while others are younger and appear to be the children of his friends. Johann's own son Hans is among them, though he doesn't look happy to be there. Berthold hasn't seen him since his own arrest.
They all have broomsticks. Maybe the bus wasn't flying very fast, if old wizards on broomsticks were able to catch up to it, Berthold thinks.
Someone deals with the driver. Proudfoot is still unconscious, but a wizard stands over him in case he should wake. Berthold's magical bonds are undone.
"We should make haste," Johann says. "They're expecting you in the Hague."
Berthold raises an eyebrow, clearly confused. Johann nods to Hans, who seems to hesitate about something. When several wands are leveled in his direction, Hans removes a vial from his pocket, unstoppers it, and downs its contents. The effects take place almost immediately. Hans transforms into a mirror image of Berthold, though in cleaner clothing, and still with his two hands.
"That might be a problem," Johann muses, but he shrugs.
Hans seems to relax, if only somewhat, since it seems like he'll be keeping his own hands. His father binds them and shoves him into one of the seats.
The memories of the bus driver and the unconscious auror are quickly modified, and then the broken windows are repaired. A younger wizard helps Berthold onto an extra long broomstick, so that they can ride together. Without hands, Berthold is likely to fall off, and it's a long drop to the ocean––just ask Savage.
The odd company departs the bus, fully aware that Hans is only a temporary substitution for Berthold. The authorities will start looking for him very soon, but hopefully by the time they discover the truth, he will be far, far away.