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Dunk Tank
Author: Illyria
Date: 09-18-09 17:47
"I bet you can't hit the target!" Illyria taunted from her seat in the dunk tank.
Iris Audley narrowed her eyes and gripped the ball she held even tighter. "Oh, yeah?" she challenged, completely serious and not realizing that Illyria was being playful.
Illyria laughed. "Yeah, that's what I think. Gonna prove me wrong?"
With a scowl, Iris threw her arm back and then pitched it forward, letting the ball fly from her palm. It hit the target dead-center, causing Illyria's seat to drop and for her to plunge into the water below.
She came up laughing, blinking water from her eyes and wringing out her hair. When she looked through the glass at Iris, she saw the seventh year girl look smug before wandering off to do something else at the fair.
Illyria climbed out of the tank and stepped onto a mat that was charmed dry after each person left the tank. She had spent the last half hour inside and had gotten wet at least twelve times. Now that her shift was over, she used her wand to dry herself from head to toe and then said "Good luck!" to the next person taking over as potential dunkee.
She made a few circuits around the Great Hall, pausing occasionally to watch someone play one of the games or to chat with somebody. Then, Illyria went outside to do the same. The day was growing long and though the sun hadn't yet set, it would set earlier than everyone might like because winter was drawing nearer.
Illyria's last shift of the day would be to oversee the Archery station, which involved targets set up at various distances. A participant used a bow and arrow and shot from behind a single white line. The farther and more accurate the shot, the better the prize.
Surprise Time
Author: Desdemona Diamond
Date: 09-19-09 01:17
I walked out of the Ministry of Magic, and started home. I’d been employed at the MoM for about a month now. I hadn’t a chance to do anything fun yet. I spend most of my time making sure I was up to date on the British way of doing things. I also, somehow, haven’t managed to see anyone I knew there. I wasn’t too worried though. I figured, they’d send me out when they’re ready. I think part of it is just because I’m new.
I stopped by my apartment for just a moment to make sure it was clean. Well, clean enough. I was going to finally surprise someone with the place, and it had to make a good first impression. I threw a couple last second things into the closet before quickly grabbing my new coat and bolting for the door.
I left the building and went down an ally, fastening my coat as I walked. Once I was far enough out of sight, I popped over to just outside the WWN station at St. Emry’s. It was easy keeping track of when Bron was at work. Everyone who’s listening knows when she is at work. Lucky for me, she was getting off work.
I stood off to the side of the walk, hands in my pockets, watching the door of the building for my friend. It took a little longer then I expected, but sure enough, the door opened and a blonde woman straight out of a fall fashion magazine made her regal exit. I couldn’t help but smile as she walked away from the building.
She didn’t make it very far before she stopped and looked at me.
“Desi!? Isn’t it like… really late for you? What are you doing here?” She asked, “And why are you smiling like that?”
I took a few steps closer to her before responding, “I decided to surprise you.”
“With the coat?” She asked. She was looking over the coat I was wearing. It was a dark coat, looked very much like an old style trench coat. It was more form fitting of course, and it stopped about mid-thigh. “That’s a really nice coat… Wait… You’re not Bianca trying to trick me are you?” She asked.
“Nope,” I said, “It’s a new coat I found.”
“Right… Where did you find it?”
“I dunno, what’s with the twenty questions?”
“So,” she started, looking over the coat again, “Mind if I borrow it, from time to time?”
“Maybe. Depends for how long.”
There was a slight pause before she looked up, “You never told me why you were here.”
“I told you. I wanted to surprise you. I figured, we could go to someplace fun,” I said, the smile from earlier returning.
Surprise Visit
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 09-19-09 09:00
After signing off at the end of her shift at the WWN station at St. Emrys, Bronwyn gathered her coat and purse and headed for the lift that would take her to the ground level. She'd developed a craving for a sweetened coffee drink and wanted to walk over to The Wyrding Way before going home.
When she stepped outside, she ran into none other than her best friend Desi. Bronwyn was very surprised to see her, since last she heard Desi was still in Seattle. What shocked Bronwyn more than her friend's visit, though, was the stylish coat Desi wore. It looked trendy and fit her like a glove. It even seemed to be her taste, even though Bronwyn felt it suited her own style too, and usually, the two girls agreed to disagree on fashion.
Bronwyn herself wore gray dress pants, a lilac colored, silky top with a keyhole neckline and a coat that matched her pants. She knew she looked good, but she bet she would look even better in Desi's stylish coat!
After questioning Desi about the coat, Bronwyn got back to the first thought to come to mind when she saw her best friend. What exactly was Desi doing in Stratford-upon-Avon, much less England of all places?
"I told you. I wanted to surprise you. I figured we could go to someplace fun," Desi answered, smiling.
"Someplace fun, huh?" Bronwyn repeated, a smile forming on her face as she pondered Desi's surprise. She loved surprises!
The Wyrding Way and coffee forgotten, Desi latched herself to Bronwyn's arm and performed a side-along apparition. Bronwyn much preferred apparating on her own or being the one doing the side-along apparating. Having someone else drag her along made her feel like she didn't have any control and that something unexpected could happen. Bronwyn trusted Desi, though, and besides, she had no idea where they were going.
They apparated to a dark alley.
"Um, tell me this isn't your big surprise," Bronwyn said, exhaling a deep breath.
Desi took a few moments to catch her own breath and then said, "Of course not, silly. Come with me."
They emerged from the alley into a narrow street, one side of which was parked with cars. Brownyn realized they were in a Muggle area and wondered how cars managed to navigate the street when it was small to begin with and on top of that, full of obstructions. The street had a slight incline, too. Desi led Bronwyn to the top and then took a left at the corner. She walked to the nearest front door. To the left of it was a system of buzzers with about twelve names labeled next to them. The last name on the panel was D. Diamond.
Bronwyn did a double take and then looked at Desi, who was grinning. She'd taken her keys out of her pocket at the meantime and was inserting them into the door.
"Is that your name? Do you live here?" Bronwyn asked.
Desi didn't reply right away and led Bronwyn into the foyer. There was a staircase on the left side and a couple of doors on the right, extending down a short hallway. Desi started hiking the stairs, with Bronwyn right behind her.
"I do live here," Desi answered.
"You do?! Since when?!"
They went up several flights of stairs, with Desi never losing her breath and Bronwyn nearly dying by the time they reached the top landing. Her huffing and puffing prevented her from replying to Desi's answer of "Since the beginning of October."
Desi went to the last door down the short hall and inserted her key. She turned the lock and gestured for Bronwyn to step inside. Bronwyn's chest was still heaving and her heart was racing.
"Doesn't this place... have a... elevator?" she finally managed, wheezing in between the words.
"It's an old building," Desi replied, shaking her head. "It's been renovated of course, but it's not exactly ADA compliant."
"What's ADA?"
Desi waved off the question with her hand and instead asked, "So what do you think?"
Bronwyn looked around the flat and walked around when her legs felt ready to move again. The flat had two bedrooms, one with violet walls and plush carpeting––Desi's, of course––and the other with a guest bed, a crib, and writing desk.
Bronwyn turned sharply to Desi. "Has Wolfie been here yet?"
Desi shook her head. "Nope. Not yet."
"Good, because if I were to find out that he'd already been here to visit and you never told me, I'd be really upset! It's bad enough you've been living on this side of the pond for a whole month and never bothered to tell me! What gives, Desi?"
Bronwyn had her hands on her hips. She wasn't really mad. She just wanted to know what her best friend was thinking when she decided to keep her move to London a secret this long.
Two Weeks Later
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 09-19-09 10:53
"Excuse me, Mr. Stratford. You gave me the wrong change. Mr. Stratford? Mr. Stratford?!"
Lysander shook himself and focused his eyes on the elderly woman who stood opposite him at the counter in Twice Told Tales. She was a regular customer, Mrs. Feeblefester by name, and though Lysander had never once been to her Hogsmeade home, he imagined books covering every shelf and available surface, so often did she come to the bookshop and purchase books.
"I'm terribly sorry, Mrs. Feeblefester," Lysander apologized in earnest. He didn't like to make mistakes on the job, but he just couldn't seem to concentrate. His thoughts were only on Astrid and the kiss they'd shared two weeks ago in the cemetery...
They parted as suddenly as their lips had touched, mouths red and swollen and hearts racing. Astrid didn't look upset but she looked shocked. Lysander couldn't believe what he'd done, nor the fact that Astrid had willingly and eagerly kissed him back.
"Was that out of line?" he croaked, when he found a part of his voice again.
Astrid didn't answer immediately, looking anywhere but at Lysander. But then she lifted her gaze and said quietly, "No."
Lysander could tell that she felt guilty about Varus but at the same time she seemed happy and alive. The initial caution that swept over her after they separated seemed to fade away and she started to smile.
Lysander smiled back. He longed to touch her again and even made a step toward her, but she shook her head and stepped back. She never stopped smiling, though.
"I should go," she said.
And Lysander hadn't seen her since. He didn't understand it, because he was certain she shared his feelings. The thought consumed him night and day and distracted him from everything from work to looking after Charlotte.
Lysander carefully counted out the correct change for Mrs. Feeblefester and handed it over with a second apology.
"No apology necessary, Mr. Stratford. I can tell that you are far away from here. Are you all right?"
Lysander wasn't sure how to answer. He eventually smiled and said, "Just lost in thought, ma'am. Have a nice day."
The door opened in time for the elderly witch to step through onto High Street. Lysander strained his neck to see who might be coming in, ever hopefully it was Astrid. To his delight, it was. He very nearly came around the counter to greet her in the otherwise empty store but Varus entered right behind her.
He put his arm around her, and with a nod to Lysander, guided her into the stacks.
Lysander started to seethe at the counter. Astrid's face had been expressionless, so it was difficult to judge how she felt about their first face to face meeting since the kiss in the cemetery. Obviously, she and Varus were still together. Obviously, she didn't care about Lysander enough to end her relationship.
He absentmindedly picked up a quill from the counter and snapped it in two.
Fun-Filled Day
Author: Ella
Date: 09-19-09 12:30
Since this morning, Ella went around the Great Hall and the Hogwarts grounds with Francis at her side. They had already gone through all the games and activities once and for the last few hours were going back to the ones they liked the most. Currently, Ella tried her hand at the Quaffle Strike Zone, with Francis simultaneously cheering and egging her on. She had three tries to shoot a quaffle through one of three hoops from a distance of 10-12 feet. So far she'd missed twice.
"No wonder you don't play chaser for Gryffindor," Francis remarked, clearly amused by Ella's poor aim.
Ella used her last throw to hit Francis in the head with the quaffle. It garnered her a reprimand from the teacher monitoring the game but Francis could only laugh. He and Ella walked away to play bowling.
"I play beater because I like to hit things, and I don't miss," Ella said, as the two took their positions in line for the game.
"Yeah, yeah," Francis replied, grinning.
They both had been having a good time at the Fall Fair. Ella hardly thought about Zane at all, which sometimes made her feel a little guilty. Just yesterday, they'd met at the gate. Zane had given Ella a carton of cigarettes, contraband she normally thrived on. She'd tucked it away at the bottom of her trunk and hadn't looked at it since.
She still liked Zane, a lot, but now that she was more social at Hogwarts, it was easy to forget about him. Ella certainly wasn't replacing Zane with Francis. She liked Francis, but she didn't like him in that way. Besides, Francis knew she had a crush on somebody else and didn't appear interested in her beyond platonic friendship. Good thing too. Ella's relationship was already complicated enough!
It finally came their turn to bowl. Francis went first, knocking eight pins down at first and leaving a split. He only managed one of the two remaining pins on his second try. Ella went first and completely missed the pins on her first try. She laughed so hard tears came out of her eyes. She thought for sure she'd miss again, since she couldn't seem to stop laughing but she managed to knock down half on her second try.
"I don't know about you but I'm getting hungry," Francis said, clutching his empty belly as they walked away to find something else to do.
"Let's raid the snack booths then. It's about dinner time, isn't it?"
"I've completely lost track of time," Francis said, "but that feels about right."
They made a beeline for the nearest refreshment table and stuffed their faces when they got there.
Amateur Eaters And People Watching
Author: Kody
Date: 09-19-09 13:19
Popping the last bite of a cream filled, chocolate covered doughnut into his mouth, Deak savors the rich flavor of pastry, one of a mixed dozen he'd selected half an hour ago as a Cake Walk prize. After winning that last time, Deak, along with Jack and Wiggy, laden down with things to eat, had left the Great Hall and come outside. They'd sprawled out on blankets charmed to hold the ground's chilly moisture at bay, where they could watch the ice skating, hear the screams of people going through the House of Horrors, listen to the shrieks and laughter of people on the rides, and, girl watch.
At fifteen, all three of the friends girl watched more than they would admit to anyone but each other. There are all the usual girls they each like to look at and today there is the added bonus of young women who don' go to Hogwarts being on the grounds. From the looks of most of the ones they've seen, these newcomers are the ages of the boys' relatives Drake, Kody, and Phin. If St. Emrys students taking advantage of the Hogwarts Fall Fair, that would explain why many of them aren't familiar looking to the three teens.
Deak reaches for another of the pastries then changes his mind and grabs a miniature lemon tart. As he eats it, his eyes are following a group of girls made mainly of mainly fourteen year olds, including Etta Wynbourne and Olive Green. Just as he swallows the last of the tart and is groaning, "I'm so stuffed I don't think I can eat anything else for awhile," someone steps in front of him blocking the view.
"Amateurs," Kody scoffs, dropping down next to Deak and reaching for a pastry.
Jack, who currently has a strawberry frosting mustache from the huge strawberry fairy cake he's eating, grins. "You haven't seen how much we've eaten so don't go calling us amateurs."
Drake, Ophelia, and Kordelia, who by now have sat down as well, cheerfully reminds them, "Don't forget that Kody is an honest to Merlin pie eating contest champion. Not only that, if but you'd seen how much he'd eaten that day in addition to the pies, you'd be the ones calling yourselves amateurs."
"When was this?" Kordelia asks her brother, having missed out on so many years after having been stolen away as a child.
Drake and Kody fill them in on the big fall carnival Aaron Miller had helped organize one of his first years at Hogwarts. They can't remember for certain but think it may even have been the Muggle Studies professor's very first school term there.
As Kody's wrapping up the story, Drake suddenly asks his brother, "Who do you keep staring at, Deak?"
"Not just Deak. Jack's and Wiggy's eyes are bugging out of their heads," Kody comments as he selects an oatmeal chocolate chip biscuit to eat next.
The three younger boys all drop their gazes and pretend to be highgly interested in what's left of the sweets they brought outside with them. Ophelia who had been looking in the same direction as all three of them says to the others, "I think they were in awe of Clea Hawkins and her sister. Or, I think that's her sister."
Clea is an American who in various terms at St. Emrys has had classes with all four of the older members of the little group.
Kordelia finally catches sight of Clea and nods, "Yes, that's her sister. She's got a long weekend from school or something like that so came for a visit. Lisa is her name but they call her Honey."
Ophelia remarks, "Clea had a crush on Phin for the longest time. She goes with another Hogwarts graduate now."
"Owen Caudwell. Bet that's who they're here with," Drake supplies. "Is that cherry vanilla?"
"Yeah, want some?" Wiggy asks, already reaching for a slice of a four layer cake he'd gotten in the same visit to Cake Walk that Deak got the box of pastries.
"Do you want me to call Clea and her sister over to introduce you lot?" Kordelia asks the three younger ones.
Trying not to sound overly excited about possibly meeting the curvy, buxom, honey haired goddess who is about the same age as they are, Jack says, "Sure," Wiggy says, "Yeah, why not?" and Deak replies, "If you want."
Ophelia, Kordelia, Drake, and Kody exchanges grins as Kordelia waves a hand, calling out Clea's name. Ten seconds later, Wiggy, Jack, and Deak are saying hello to Lisa "Honey" Hawkins and all three are thinking they can die happy now.
Another Surprise
Author: Desdemona Diamond
Date: 09-20-09 11:05
Bronwyn’s reaction was about what I had expected. Aside from the stairs, I thought she would have been in better shape then that. Even the mock anger was expected as she tried to get how I’d been here so long.
“Well, I would have told you, but I’ve been busy at the MoM that I forgot…”
”You work at the MoM now?” She asked in surprise.
“Well, yeah, transferred about a month ago. The commute from here to Seattle daily would kill me.”
“So, you work at the MoM and moved to England, and didn’t tell me?”
“I told you, I was going to, but didn’t have the time.”
“What else haven’t you told me?” She asked.
"Uhh... Mom and Wolfie are going to come visit next week?" I responded.
Questions
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 09-20-09 16:34
Although Bronwyn imagined that Desi's new job kept her busy, she still felt that her best friend could have taken a moment out of her schedule to inform Bronwyn of her transfer to London. She didn't argue with Desi's reason for keeping quiet though, especially when Desi announced that Annabelle and Wolfie would be coming to visit next week.
"They will?!" Bronwyn asked, excitedly. "Really?!"
"Yes, really."
Bronwyn's eyes narrowed suddenly. "Were you going to tell me without me having to get it out of you first?"
Desi rolled her eyes. "Of course I would have. Besides, I'm surprised my mom hasn't written you to let you know that she and Wolfie are coming. She'll want to see you, no doubt."
Bronwyn brightened again, eager to see her little brother again. She hadn't since before she and Aemilia had visited Arley and Seb in New York City.
Her smile turned upside down again when she realized something. "Wait a minute," she started slowly, allowing the thought to form fully in her mind. "What position did you take at the Ministry?"
"The British equivalent of what I did back home. I'm the newest auror at headquarters," Desi replied.
"Auror, you say?????" Bronwyn knew that was what Desi would say, but she wanted to hear it said aloud before she voiced her thought on the matter.
Desi shrugged. "Yeah, why? Wouldn't it make sense I continue the same career path as before?"
Bronwyn waved her hand. "That's not what I'm getting at. You're an auror. At the Ministry of Magic. Where my brother-in-law Anthony Beck is working as an auror."
A sly smile spread over Desi's lips. "Yeah, so?"
"So, he would totally know that you are living in London now and probably sees you everyday at work!"
Desi laughed. "Don't be mad at him. I asked him not to tell you because I wanted to tell you myself."
Bronwyn folded her arms over her chest.
"Seriously," Desi went on, still laughing.
Bronwyn huffed. "Well, I guess I haven't seen or talked to him recently for the conversation to come up. Though Toby certainly has. I'll have to interrogate him and see if Anthony mentioned anything about you being here all this time."
Desi rolled her eyes again and asked, "Is there anything else you want to grill me about?"
Bronwyn shook her head. "Not at the moment, but if I think of something, you can be sure that I will ask."
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Bron. So, are you hungry? Did you already have plans for dinner?"
"No definite plans. What did you have in mind?"
"I know some good restaurants in walking distance."
"More walking?"
"Not far!"
"Okay, fine."