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A Wee Bit Stubborn
Author: Sirius Padfoot Black
Date: 08-14-16 20:01
Some of the professors' older children have been at their own small table. Until a few seconds ago Mira Eternal-Black had been at that table. Now, she stands behind the chair of Headmistress Minerva McGonagall politely drawing the older witch's attention. They speak for a moment before the one smiling, now deeply frowning Mira returns to sit beside her twin.
At the head table Drucilla says to Sirius, "I know you're dying to say I told you so."
He acknowledges, "I am but I won't."
George Weasley looks curiously at them so Sirius enlightens him. "Mira decided that if she turned on the charm and asked oh so politely Minerva would consent to allow her to begin Hogwarts in September. We told her it wouldn't work but she's a wee bit stubborn."
George laughs lightly. "What about James?"
"James would like to have a wand to wield but he's fine with waiting another year for Hogwarts," Dru tells him.
"Miranda wants to start this fall but that's mainly because her cousin Larkin is. She keeps asking why we couldn't have fudged her birth certificate and put an August date of birth rather than September."
"Well," Sirius asks with amusement, "why didn't you?"
George laughs again. "We keep telling Miranda that even if we had, she still wouldn't be starting this fall with the triplets. She's ten her next birthday, not eleven. She and Charlie's boy Artie start the same year. Oh, Dru, I meant to tell you before the feast began. We loved the spaghetti sauce, Georgie especially."
Dru brightly smiles. "Thank you. We open the shoppe soon. We're still debating on whether Saucy! is the name we want to go with. Ivaylo is all for it. Our silent partner is on the fence. I like it yet I'm not sure about it."
For a few minutes more the three talk about Dru's business venture before switching to the subject of who's going where for summer holiday, with Majandra joining in the conversation.
So Close
Author: Rowan Westwick
Date: 08-15-16 19:20
Rowan sat at the Ravenclaw table with Beatrix and Pablo. They were disappointed to have barely squeaked past Gryffindor in the rankings for House Cup. Beatrix felt especially responsible for Ravenclaw's less than stellar year, even though the outcome would have been no different if she hadn't lost major points for getting caught with Smart Crystals. If anything, things could have turned out worse. Both Rowan and Pablo losing points would have most definitely put Ravenclaw at the bottom in the final rankings.
"Less than 24 hours to go and we're officially graduates of Hogwarts," Rowan murmured. She didn't want to jinx things, but earning last minute punishment from Professor McGonagall seemed less and less likely now. Rowan told herself that if points were to be lost, then surely the Headmistress would have taken care of that prior to announcing the final standings earlier in the evening.
And what sort of detention was left between now and tomorrow morning? None that Rowan could imagine.
"I'm glad you decided to enroll in St. Emrys," Beatrix said. "I was thinking I'd have to live at home, but now we can definitely be roommates. Oh, this is going to be fun!"
"I thought we were going to be roommates?" Pablo teased.
Beatrix flushed red. "I thought you and Lon were going to room together."
Pablo chuckled. "Of course we are. We're thinking about restarting our business with the university crowd. Think it'll go over well with the scholarly set?"
Beatrix held up her hands. "You two do what you like, but count me out. I don't want to get in trouble again."
Pablo grinned, showing off his dimples. "Fine, you can sit this round out. But what about you, Rowan? Are you in?"
Rowan smiled and said, "I don't know, Pablo. As a future auror, I'm not sure I should get involved with something that's potentially a scam."
"I can't believe you want to be an auror!" Beatrix exclaimed. "That's CRAZY!"
Rowan shrugged. "I gave it a lot of thought. Given my family's history, I think working on the right side of the law is the best place for me. Plus, I can put Death Eaters behind bars. Nothing would give me greater pleasure after what they did to us."
"It's so dangerous, though!"
"Isn't what Cornelia does for a living dangerous?"
Beatrix rolled her eyes. "That's SO Cornelia, though. You're not that tough."
"Hey!"
Beatrix laughed. "You know what I mean."
"At least I've considered what I want to study and am not choosing something because of a boy," Rowan said.
Pablo quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not reading finance. I'm reading linguistics."
Beatrix shot Rowan an angry look. Rowan covered her mistake by saying, "Well, finance is the language of money, right?"
Pablo chuckled. "You could say that, and I think it's a language Beatrix will master well."
Rowan smiled. "I'm sure she will."
Beatrix forced a smile onto her own face and said, "Enough about school already. Let's talk about summer. Also, please cut me a slice of that nectarine cake."
Pablo did as told and handed Beatrix a cake plate and cake fork along with the requested slice. He also gave Rowan a plate when she indicated she wanted one too. She wished she could taste all of the desserts, especially knowing she was unlikely to ever visit Hogwarts again, but she was already quite full from dinner.
Tired & Drained
Author: Fionna
Date: 08-15-16 21:44
"Are you sure you don't want to at least sit, Fionna?"
"I'm fine," Fionna tells Jericho while going to the waiting room door to look into the hallway.
Jericho comes up behind her, gently taking Fionna by the shoulders to steer her to a couch. "You aren't fine."
Fionna sits, Jericho taking the spot beside her. Fidgeting she points out, "You're the one who's just had Skele-Gro."
"For a fracture, not a break."
Both jump up then as a nurse brings Dalton in. "Here's Mum and Dad," she says in a bright voice to the three year old. To Fionna and Jericho she says, "Everything's fine. The tummy ache was just some excess gas caused by the calming draught he was given. It wasn't particularly well brewed."
As Dalton had been bent over screaming his parents had been expecting to be told he had an internal injury or had been poisoned. They'd both wanted to be with Dalton while he was examined but the healer thought it best that the screaming child be seen without anxious parents hovering to make things worse. McKenzie is also being seen for a bump on her head. The healer wants to make sure the one year old didn't sustain a concussion.
Hit Wizard Ebony Urban enters the waiting area carrying a holding with cups of tea. She smiles at seeing Dalton now cuddling with his mum on the couch. "All better?"
Jericho nods. "Just waiting on word about McKenzie. What about ?"
"I stopped and asked after getting the tea. No word yet."
Simone Kincaid had not only received spell damage but part of a wall came down on her during the rescue of the children and Jericho.
Calling herself a Dragon superfan and having declared herself as Jericho Japes's #1 fan, Kincaid slowly developed a fantasy in which she were the object of Jericho's love and the mother of his children. This early on no one knows what the snapping point for her was that pushed her from daydreaming to attempting to make those dreams come true.
Whatever it was, one past the point of thinking rationally Kincaid embarked on an ill conceived plan to take over as Fionna. That meant getting rid of Fionna and taking the children. Part of the ill conceived portions of her plan was that she never gave thought to actually killing Fionna and disappearing the body.
Th spell Kincaid used was a strong, and somewhat painful, stunner, not a killing curse or other fatal spell. When Fionna first came to her fear over the children missing masked the pain. Once that initial moment passed, Fionna was so sore she could barely hobble.
Kincaid had forced Dalton to drink some of a calming draught. Knowing how difficult he can be when he doesn't want to eat or drink something, both Jericho and Fionna think it a wonder that Merle didn't hear him making a fuss. She'd managed to get out of the travel agency with the children using an unauthorized portkey before McKenzie started yowling in sympathy with Dalton being unhappy.
Another flaw in Simone Kincaid's plan was that she hadn't thought to use Polyjuice do any transfiguring whatsoever in an effort to present herself to Jericho as his wife. She'd simply shown up, kids in tow then seem flustered when he not only didn't know who she was but wanted to know why she had his children, where was Fionna.
She'd pulled her wand and proceeded to keep Jericho and the children hostage while attempting to convince him he loved her, not that other woman. In between trying to talk Jericho into thinking she was his wife, not Fionna, she'd encourage Dalton and McKenzie to call her Mummy. She also had to keep giving them some of the calming draught, particularly Dalton who was distressed that something had happened to his mummy, who he told Kincaid repeatedly was his real mummy, not her.
This had not been going on long when the authorities showed up, alerted by Fionna and Merle. A standoff ensued, ending only a short time ago when Jericho tried tackling her. She saw it coming and was able to fend him off, resulting in his getting the bone fracture, but his effort did afford law enforcement the needed diversion to throw some spells at her without the children in the way. One, or more of those spells, caused damage to the wall, which partially came down on her after she'd been knocked over by some of those same spells.
As hit wizards rushed in to ensure Kincaid was subdued, Dalton started screaming in pain about his stomach. McKenzie got a conk on the head from a piece of flying rubble from that collapsing wall.
The healer who'd seen McKenzie comes into the waiting room, a nurse right behind carrying the child. "Mr. and Mrs. Japes, your daughter is fine. She'll have a bruised bump for a few days but there's no concussion or other damage."
They talk a little longer then the healer leaves them to take care of the parchmentwork and to pick up a potion for Dalton should his gas pain return and a potion for McKenzie for headache related to the bump. They spend a little more time talking with Ebony Urban, making arrangements for a time for them to go to the Ministry to make their formal statements. After she promises to keep them updated on Kincaid's condition, the tired and drained Japes go home, wanting more than to snuggle together and get some sleep but instead have to spend a few hours answering owls, and having people wanting to firechat and some, such as Fionna's mother, coming over to see how they are.
Sisters at the Feast
Author: Sophie McCourt
Date: 08-16-16 14:57
Sophie was not the type of person who dwelled on things from the past, but tonight she could not help feeling a little bit sad giving the circumstances. Hufflepuff had won the Championship match, she had caught the snitch herself, but somehow the Great Hall was decorated in green and silver. It was all about math, like Caleb said a few days ago, when she lamented herself out loud at the common commons. Sophie felt she was being a victim of a cruel prank. That moment of happiness, when she had grabbed the snitch vanished a few moments later, when Willow announced the total of points achieved by the two teams, concluding that Slytherin was ahead of her house. She did not bother to make the math, because in her mind, grabbing the snitch meant the victory. It was rare when that wasn't so, and it had to happen to her and her teammates.
"I can't believe the Scholastic Aptitude Tournament is going to be next year. We have OWLs!" Estine said, adding some more pie to her plate.
"You sounded just like Caleb," Sophie commented. "I just hope he can come to the Emrys Fest this year."
Both Sophie and Estine already had tickets for the Emrys Fest. Mickey Moon was coming as well, alongside other students from their school year. Mickey had actually been a good friend when it came to comfort her after Hufflepuff's ironic loss. He did not talk about math like Caleb. Instead he started to insult the Slytherins, placing himself at the Hufflepuff's side and saying it was not fair. He made her laugh.
Meanwhile at the Ravenclaw table, Patricia was in a better mood than her oldest sister. Of course she would prefer her house to win the house cup, but she was not particularly sad with Slytherin's victory. The exams were over and the summer holidays were here! Patricia was looking forward to go to her father's house and spend time with baby Flo. She had made plans to read for her, even if she would not understand anything, because she read somewhere babies were able to recognize people's voices and she wanted Flo to recognize hers. She also wanted to walk her sister's trolley around the gardens.
A lot had happened this school year, including kissing a boy, a terrible episode she was trying hard to forget. She was eager to go back home, rest, and comeback next year, ready for her third year at Hogwarts. She felt like she would stop being seen as one of the youngest, because now she would take two more classes and she would be able to visit Hogsmeade. That was a privilege not granted to the younger students. There was also the Scholastic Aptitude Tournament taking place, and Patricia had not been one of the voices who protested when McGonagall announced there would be no Quidditch next year. She was looking forward to the tournament and she was hoping to be able to chosen to represent Hogwarts in at least one of the challenges.
Patricia might not be upset about the lack of Quidditch but Belinda was. She had really enjoyed playing for the Slytherin team and she felt like she could get used to win matches and become champion year after year, even without the seeker catching the snitch. She loved seeing the Great Hall decorated with the Slytherin colors, and everywhere she turned, she could see a serpent. No one could ignore they had won the house cup. All her friends from Slytherin were happy, and everyone ate with appetite, laughing and smiling, more than the usual. Belinda risked a look at the Gryffindor table. Although the spirits were high, it was not the same thing, as they had the worst performance of all houses this year. She felt bad for her friend Hercules. It was a shame he had not been sorted into Slytherin like her, otherwise he would be here right now, celebrating with her.
End of the Evening
Author: Ellis
Date: 08-16-16 19:13
Conrad eyed a platter of colorful macaroons but decided he was too full to eat anything else. He had gorged on just about everything he could get his hands on and was now starting to regret his gluttonous evening at the End of Term Feast. His stomach felt so round it would surely cause the button of his school slacks to pop right off. Good thing he was wearing his robes, as it would cover up any wardrobe malfunction that might occur.
"Do you think you can roll me out of here?" Conrad said half-jokingly to his neighbor Frederick.
"I was just wondering if you could levitate me straight to my bed. I'm smashed!"
"That's because you spent all last night playing Exploding Snap. You should have gone to bed at a reasonable hour."
"Four in the morning is reasonable if you don't have anywhere to be the next day."
"Is this how you'll spend your summers, then?" Conrad asked. "Staying up till the wee morning hours, sleeping away the day, and then falling asleep in your after dinner chocolate mousse?"
Frederick pushed his bowl away to avoid Conrad's joke from possibly coming true and shrugged. "I just might."
"So you'll be asleep on the train tomorrow?"
"That's my plan."
"Who can sleep on the Hogwarts Express?" cut in Blakeney, who was sitting a few seats over and had just finished a slice of strawberry pie. "It's not the most quiet or smooth of rides, is it? Besides, you'll miss the trolley lady and her sweets!"
Conrad groaned and grabbed his belly. "Oh, let's not talk about sweets right now."
Blakeney pointed at Conrad and said to Frederick. "You might not want to share a compartment with him tomorrow. You'll likely wake up with vomit all over you, courtesy my dear brother."
Conrad started to pretend to vomit in her direction but stopped when his fake convulsions started feeling a bit real.
Blakeney, meanwhile, turned to Chip and said, "You'll share a compartment with me and Tessa, won't you?"
"I figured Alys would sit with you two, so yeah, I'll be there."
Blakeney looked over at the Ravenclaw table and found Alys, who was getting up and preparing to leave the Great Hall, along with a lot of other students. Blakeney felt a little jealous of how Alys seemed to hold Chip's attention, but she also knew it was an irrational feeling because Alys and Chip were only friends. Still, she wished he would be as attentive towards her as he was towards her sister.
"Well, good," she replied. She started to climb to her feet and said, "I suppose we should head back to the common room now. I've still got some packing to do."
"This late?" Conrad interjected. "What did you do all day?"
"Pack."
"And you're still not finished?"
Blakeney shrugged. "I have a lot of stuff." Then she cocked her head to the side and asked, "Are you okay? You're looking a bit green."
"Yeah, fine," Conrad said, rising to his feet. He thought he could keep his dinner down, but the trick was getting all the way from the Great Hall to his bed without making himself feel queasier. What a memorable night it would be, though, if he ended his first year at Hogwarts by spewing what he ate at the End of Term Feast.